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Kings welcome Warriors to Sacramento

Mar 14, 2011 - 3:09 PM (Sports Network) - Pacific Division rivals clash in Sacramento Monday when the Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings possess the Western Conference's worst record and are playing out the string, losing their sixth straight game in New Orleans on Saturday when Chris Paul, who missed the previous two games with a concussion, scored a season-high 33 points to go with 15 assists and seven rebounds in his return to the lineup, as the Hornets used a big fourth quarter to down Sacramento, 115-103.

Marcus Thornton finished with 25 points and three steals against his former team, but the Kings lost for the eighth time in nine games overall. DeMarcus Cousins recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Samuel Dalembert ended with 16 points and eight boards for Sacramento, which has also lost five straight on the road. Francisco Garcia added 12 points in defeat.

"Well from our standpoint I think we just ran out of gas and couldn't execute when we needed to in the fourth quarter, and obviously we couldn't stop Chris Paul and David West," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said. "That's pretty much the game in a nut shell."

Sacramento continues to toil without reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, who has missed the past 13 games with a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The Kings are 3-15 this season without Evans in the lineup. Guard Beno Udrih also missed the game with flu-like symptoms and is questionable for tonight's contest.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have an outside shot at a playoff berth but are 5 1/2 games back of eighth place Memphis with just 16 games to play. The team, did, however, rout Minnesota, 100-77, on Sunday, stopping Kevin Love's impressive double-double streak in the process.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points in that one as the Warriors halted Love's NBA post-merger record double-double streak at 53 games.

Love was pulled with 4:08 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Timberwolves trailing by 23 points. He scored just six points and had 12 rebounds -- the first time since November 19 that he failed to reach double digits in both categories.

"I feel a big weight off my shoulders," said Love. "I'm pretty happy with what I did. I don't think we should look at it as the streak came to an end. For me it's a time to reflect on what I did well."

Deserving most of the credit was David Lee, who was physical with Love all night. Despite playing more than 36 minutes, Lee scored just eight points -- well below his season average of 16.

"The player who was going to guard Love tonight wasn't going to be involved in the offense at all," said Warriors head coach Keith Smart. "To get to where we wanted to be tonight, someone had to sacrifice and that's what [Lee] did."

Monta Ellis and Dorell Wright added 16 points apiece for the Warriors, who have won three of their last four on the heels of a stretch where they went 1-6.

Golden State has won three straight over the Kings and six of eight overall.