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Anderson helps Hornets hold off Kings

Jan 22, 2013 - 12:29 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Ryan Anderson nailed seven 3-pointers en route to 27 points and Greivis Vasquez recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 assists, helping the New Orleans Hornets beat the Sacramento Kings, 114-105, on Monday.

Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu added 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Hornets, who have won seven of their last nine games. Anthony Davis netted 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field to go with three blocks in the win.

DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 29 points and snagged 13 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost six of their last nine, Isaiah Thomas contributed 20 points, while Tyreke Evans finished with 16 points and four assists.

The Kings jumped out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to a Cousins jumper, but the edge didn't last long.

Minutes later, a Davis slam made it 13-10 for the home team, kicking off a 19-8 run to end the first quarter that gave New Orleans a 30-18 lead.

After having its lead hover around just over 10 points for most of the second quarter, New Orleans heated up near the end of the stanza.

Anderson's 3-pointer with 3:04 left before the half increased the lead to 19 at 55-36. Gordon then stole a errant pass away from Thomas and found Davis underneath the hoop for an easy lay-in, and Davis returned the favor on the next possession, stealing another poor Thomas pass and finding Gordon for a 3-pointer for a 60-36 lead with 2:20 left before the break.

Robin Lopez's putback with 1.9 seconds left in the half gave the Hornets a 64-39 advantage at intermission. Anderson had five trey's and 17 points alone in the second quarter.

The Kings were down by as many as 27 around the midway point of the third quarter, but chipped away to make things interesting.

Aminu's layup with 4:46 left in the period made it 80-55 for the home team, but the Kings fought back with a 19-2 run to make it 82-74 with under one minute to go in the frame, although New Orleans entered the final quarter up 87-76.

"It made it tough on us, but I was proud the way the guys came back in the third quarter," Sacramento coach Keith Smart said about overcoming the deficit. "It would have been easy for them to pack it in, but they came out and made a game of it. Ryan Anderson did what they brought him here to do, and that was to shoot threes. We did a good job getting back in the game, but at the end, Greivis hit about a 30' shot that really hurt us. It was just too big a hole for us to dig out of."

Another Aminu putback with 7:02 remaining in the contest gave New Orleans a 15-point, 101-86 lead and what looked like enough of a cushion to cruise the rest of the way.

The Kings, however, didn't go away, with Cousins accounting for seven points during an 11-3 run which pulled Sacramento within 104-97 with just over three minutes left.

Gordon and Vasquez responded with a five-point swing which included a jumper and trey, respectively, and the Hornets hung on for the win from there.

"You'd like to," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said about his team's consistency from start to finish. "That is what coaches love, you want a perfect game. At the same time, we are cognizant that you are playing against NBA teams; coaches are going to make adjustments. I was just glad our guys did enough to win a game. At the end of the season we won't look back on this game and think 'we only won it this way'. We'll be glad we got this win."

Game Notes

According to several reports on Sunday, the Maloof brothers, principal owners of the Kings, reached an agreement with a group headed by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer to move the franchise to the Pacific Northwest. This reported deal would mean the Kings would relocate to Seattle, possibly as early as next season. The Sacramento Bee stated that Sacramento mayor and former NBA All- Star, Kevin Johnson is seeking a group to buy the Kings and keep them in California's capital city. The NBA is still reviewing the sale ... The Hornets connected on 12-of-25 from 3-point range ... Anderson also added six boards ... The Kings shot 46.9 percent from the floor, but managed just 3-of-15 from behind the arc ... Sacramento's Travis Outlaw added 10 points off the bench in the loss.