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Cousins paces Kings over Suns

Mar 29, 2013 - 5:34 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - DeMarcus Cousins amassed 34 points and 14 rebounds in 30 minutes of play, and the Sacramento Kings won their second road game in a row with a 117-103 decision over the reeling Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Cousins had a double-double before halftime and the Kings converted 53 percent from the field to notch their fourth win in six games. Isaiah Thomas totaled 23 points with eight assists and Patrick Patterson had a 10-point, 10-rebound effort.

Luis Scola scored 25 points as the Suns dropped their fifth straight and ninth contest in 10 games. P.J. Tucker followed with 18 and Wesley Johnson and Michael Beasley each scored 14 in the defeat.

"Learning to be a winner is tough," said Phoenix coach Lindsey Hunter. "It's tedious. It's not fun."

Sacramento converted 54.5 percent of its shots in the first half, including 5- for-10 from 3-point range, and carried a 64-50 lead at the break.

"I just feel like I got it going early. My jump shot was falling and with them giving me my jump shot and hitting it, it helped the rest of my game," said Cousins. "It was fun. I think we bounced back from our mistakes."

Cousins had 23 of his points and 11 of his rebounds before halftime, but eight unanswered points from the Suns had the contest tied at 46-46 with 5:08 to play in the second.

Toney Douglas, though, broke the deadlock with a 3-pointer and sent the Kings on a 14-0 flurry to take control. The Suns were just 1-for-8 in the final five minutes before halftime.

After falling behind 19 points in the third, the Suns rifled off a 13-0 run, with a hook shot from Scola cutting the deficit to 75-69, but Thomas came back with a layup and Cousins followed with a three-point play.

The Kings kept a double-digit advantage for the rest of the quarter, taking an 88-78 lead into the fourth.

The closest the Suns came was 94-87 following the completion of a 9-0 run, but consecutive scores from Patterson began a 6-0 spurt and Sacramento never led by less than 11 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Kings won two straight on the road for the just the second time this season, improving to 8-30 away from home on the campaign. They last won consecutive road games on Jan. 2 and Jan. 4 over the Cavaliers and Raptors. Cousins had scored a season-high 31 against Toronto that night, but topped that performance with his 34-point effort on Thursday.