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Smith leads Hawks over Kings

Mar 12, 2012 - 5:03 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Josh Smith continued his recent scoring binge with a 28-point effort, carrying the Hawks over the Kings, 106-99, at Power Balance Pavilion.

Joe Johnson joined Smith in double figures, finishing with 21 points and six assists as the club improved to 2-2 on its current six-game road trip. Jeff Teague added 16 points, while Marvin Williams and Kirk Hinrich both netted 12 in the win.

DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings with 28 points and 12 rebounds. John Salmons had 14 points off the bench, but Sacramento was unable to secure a third straight win.

Both teams were careless with the ball, as Atlanta had 17 turnovers and the Kings coughed it up 16 times. The Hawks took advantage of Sacramento's mistakes, scoring 23 points of the miscues to made up for their own shortcomings.

"We just had too many mistakes," Kings head coach Keith Smart said. "It's a disappointing loss."

Smith, who has averaged 25.5 points in March, scored 12 in the third quarter to give the visitors an 80-74 lead heading to the fourth.

The versatile forward added a pair of jumpers and a free throw in the first three minutes of the fourth to extend the margin to 88-76.

"I have to keep doing what I'm doing and not worry about any outside distractions," said Smith, who has been rumored to be on the trade market.

The Kings clawed to within 96-91 behind a 9-2 run, but came up empty on four straight possessions down the stretch as their comeback faded away.

Williams' steal and subsequent three-point play with 27.7 seconds left iced the outcome.

Sacramento led 24-23 after the first quarter and 52-51 at the break.

Game Notes

The Kings made 10 three-pointers but were outrebounded, 45-36...Zaza Pachulia rounded out Atlanta's high scorers, totaling 10 points to go with 13 rebounds...Jimmer Fredette and Marcus Thornton both scored 12 points for the Kings.