SACRAMENTO, Calif.The Sacramento Kings couldn't miss - or at least it seemed that way.
Their ability to knock down a ton of shots, KO'd the Boston Celtics in surprisingly emphatic fashion, 120-95. The 120 points were the most the C's gave up this season.
DeMarcus Cousins (20 points, seven rebounds). Marcus Thornton (36 points). Isaiah Thomas (13 points, 10 assists).
If he had a Kings jersey on, chances were pretty good that he was making shots.
After a relatively close first half, the Kings blew the game wide open with a 41-point third quarter - the most points any team has scored in any quarter against the Celtics this season.
It was one of the few games this season in which the Celtics defense disappearedfor the entire game.
One of the few brightspots for Boston was Ray Allen, who had a game-high 26 points and Rajon Rondo who led all players with 12 assists.
The jumpers that Thornton made for the most part were open or lightly contested.
The baskets around the basket scored by Cousins had little resistance as well.
It was so bad, Celtics coach Doc Rivers took his starters off the floor with more than six minutes to play, as clear a signal as any that this game was a wrap and that he wanted to preserve his core guys for Saturday night's game at Denver.
With the game so out of hand, the worst thing you want if you're Boston is for someone to get hurt. But that's exactly what happened to Paul Pierce, who suffered what team officials described as a mild ankle sprain. He did not return to the game, but considering its lopsided nature, he probably would have been on the bench even if healthy.
Hot shot: Quick, who is the Sacramento Kings' leading scorer? Don't feel bad. Most of the Celtics players didn't know when Doc Rivers asked them earlier. Well they know now, and so should you. It's Marcus Thornton, who torched the C's for a season-high 36 points which is twice his team-high scoring average of 18 points per game. "Because you don't see this team, you would assume (DeMarcus) Cousins because he gets most of the press," said C's coach Doc Rivers. "Cousins played well too, but Thornton was sensational."
In-n-out: Rajon Rondo is not one to put up big shooting numbers on a nightly basis, but he's a better shooter than the 2-for-9 performance he had on Friday night. Rondo, like the rest of the Celtics, never really instilled his will on the game despite finishing with a game-high 12 assists.
Super Sub: Bench play was not a major factor in Friday's game, but the Kings did get some solid production from Travis Outlaw who had 11 points along with four rebounds.
Turning point: When the players returned to the floor to start the third quarter, one team came to play. That would be Boston. The other came to win. That would be Sacramento, which opened the third with a blistering 17-1 run. And the point the C's scored was a free throw by Ray Allen after Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins was whistled for a technical foul.
By the numbers: 41: That would the number of points Boston gave up in the third quarter. It's the most points the C's have rendered in one quarter of play this season.
Quote to note: "Anybody can beat anybody. I think we proved that ourselves." - Celtics coach Doc Rivers, when asked about his son Austin's team, No. 2-seeded Duke, being upset in the NCAA Tournament by 15th-seeded Lehigh.