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Cousins carries Kings over Knicks in OT

Dec 28, 2014 - 7:22 AM Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - DeMarcus Cousins scored nine of his season-high 39 points in overtime, and the Sacramento Kings handed the New York Knicks a seventh consecutive loss in Saturday's 135-129 victory.

Cousins, who missed Friday's loss to the Suns with a stomach virus, did not look 100-percent physically but stepped up in crunch time. He went 14-of-27 from the floor and added 11 rebounds and four assists.

Rudy Gay added 29 points and Darren Collison donated 27 with 10 assists for the Kings, who had dropped seven of eight coming in.

"We were really concentrating on how we needed to play to win this game," Kings coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks with 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, but it was not enough as New York fell to 2-14 on the road.

Cole Aldrich scored a career-high 18 points before fouling out in overtime, while Tim Hardaway Jr. netted 19 for New York, which never led in regulation but scored nine of the final 11 points to force OT.

"Playing hard is really what I try to do," Aldrich said. "If you're going to play hard, most nights are going to be better than others."

The Knicks trailed by 14 early in the fourth before rattling off eight straight to pull within 99-93.

Two Hardaway free throws with 4:31 to go had the Knicks within 105-102, but Collison followed with a 3-pointer and Cousins scored on three straight possessions to make it a 115-108 game with under two minutes left.

Despite the odds, the Knicks rallied to play an extra five minutes. Aldrich scored five points during the aforementioned 9-2 run, including a three-point play with 38.2 seconds left that cut the deficit to 117-115.

After Cousins tried finding a cutting Collison and had the ball knocked away, Hardaway went in and converted a fastbreak layup with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Anthony stripped Gay going up for a baseline jumper in the closing seconds, and the former returned the favor by getting a piece of Anthony's attempt from the top of the key at the buzzer.

Shane Larkin's steal and layup gave New York its first and only lead, 124-122, but after trading buckets, the Kings scored 11 straight to pull away.

Cousins found an open Collison with a cross-court pass for a 3-pointer, then split a pair of defenders for a thunderous dunk. Collison added a layup off a Ben McLemore steal, and Ray McCallum's putback all but sealed the win.

Gay and Cousins both scored 15 points in a high-scoring first quarter.

The Knicks trailed by as many as 15 but pulled within six late in the half. Collison drained a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Kings a 67-58 lead at the break.

Both teams shot over 52 percent in the first half but slowed down to a sub-37 percent clip in the third quarter. McCallum's fadeaway jumper in the closing seconds provided the hosts with an 89-80 cushion.

Game Notes

Knicks guard J.R. Smith (foot) sat out an eighth straight game ... The Kings shot 55.1 percent from the floor ... Larkin netted 14 points in 35 minutes off the bench ... Anthony shot 13-of-29 from the floor.