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Cousins, Kings snap Hornets' 10-game streak

Jan 30, 2011 - 6:06 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - DeMarcus Cousins filled the stat sheet with 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, as the Sacramento Kings beat New Orleans, 102-96, snapping the Hornets' 10-game winning streak.

For a team that has just 12 wins this season, the Kings have shocked their opponents the last two nights. On Friday, they went into Staples Center and topped the Lakers. On Saturday, they overcame foul trouble to their season's leading scorer, Tyreke Evans, to deal the Hornets their first loss since January 7, on the road against the Lakers.

Evans, who picked up his fifth foul early in the third quarter, totaled 18 points. Samuel Dalembert added 16, including a big tip-in with under a minute remaining. Beno Udrih tallied 14 points in the win.

This is just the second time the Kings have won two in a row, the other coming October 30 and November 1 against Cleveland and Toronto.

"It was a pretty satisfying night for us," Kings coach Paul Westphal said. "It felt like real progress for our team."

David West had 21 points for the Hornets, who shot just 43.2 percent from the field. Chris Paul contributed 19 points and seven assists for the visitors, who never led.

A pull-up right elbow jumper from West had the Hornets within 96-94 with 1:43 left, and New Orleans had a chance to tie after Cousins was called for an offensive foul for hooking Emeka Okafor along the right baseline. However, Cousins then stood his ground when Marcus Thornton went into the lane.

The charging call with 1:19 left gave the Kings the ball back, and they stretched the margin thanks to some tenacious inside play. Dalembert missed a short jumper and Cousins was denied on the follow try. Omar Casspi then missed a tip-in try, but Dalembert cleaned up for a bucket with 53.4 seconds left.

Following a Thornton missed three-point try, Udrih sank two from the charity stripe with 31.4 seconds left to seal the win.

The Kings led by as many as nine in the opening quarter before settling for a 24-22 edge after 12 minutes. A 12-0 run moved the Kings to a 36-24 lead in the second and they carried a 56-46 cushion into the half. The margin stood at 76-67 going to the fourth.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the Hornets still have a chance to get their most wins in a month. They are 12-3 in January and will play in Phoenix Sunday evening...In four previous games, the Hornets went 29-of-58 from three-point range, but they were just 4-of-16 in this contest...Thornton had 16 points, Okafor 15 and Trevor Ariza 12 for the Hornets...Cousins' seven assists are a career- best...The 10-game run for the Hornets tied a franchise record...This was the start of a six-game homestand for the Kings, who will play Boston on Tuesday.