Twenty four hours after a blowout win in New York, the Kings were no match for the Spurs as they fell112-85 on Wednesday in San Antonio.
Facing a 24-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings were unable to make a significant run against the Spurs and trailed by as many as 40 points against a well-rested San Antonio club that hadn’t played since Saturday.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs (37-23) with 21 points, while Tony Parker (19), Danny Green (13), Manu Ginobili (13) and Marco Belinelli (13) rounded out the double-digit scoring for the victors.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 14 points, while Ray McCallum contributed 12 points, Derrick Williams added 11 and Rudy Gay finished with ten points for the Kings (20-38) in defeat.
Sacramento is now 3-4 under Karl and falls to 8-19 on the road. The Kings are now 12-14 in back-to-back games and fall to 5-8 in the second game of back-to-back scenarios.
The Spurs improve to 21-7 at home and increase their modest winning streak to three games, which started with a Feb. 27 win in Sacramento.
The Spurs also take the season series 3-1 over the Kings. The last time Sacramento won in San Antonio was in January of 2012.
The Kings found themselves in an 11-2 hole to start the game, yet resurrected and led 27-26 at the end of the first quarter.
However, the lead was short lived as Leonard scored 19 in the first half and the Spurs took a 54-38 advantage into intermission. Cousins was limited to just 11 and a half minutes in the first half, plagued by committing three fouls.
San Antonio extended its lead by outscoring Sacramento 31-23 in the third quarter and held a commanding 85-61 lead heading into the final stanza.
Parker asserted himself in the third quarter scoring 11 points as San Antonio extended its lead to 85-61 at the end of the stanza.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Kawhi Leonard was stellar as the game-high scorer with 21 points.
TURNING POINT
The Spurs 28-11 second quarter created the separation that the Kings could never bridge the rest of the evening.
INJURY UPDATE
Kings -- C DeMarcus Cousins (left ankle sprain) was probable and played.
Spurs -- None to report.
WHAT’S NEXT
Games three and four of the Kings eight game road trip take place in the sunshine state of Florida on Friday in Orlando and Saturday in Miami.
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