Thomas was again the man of the night, finishing with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, but he was far from the lone bright spot.  DeMarcus Cousins did a remarkable job, particularly in the second half, of getting to the basket and showing patience in the paint against the very long and athletic DeAndre Jordan.  Cousins managed to score 20 points on 16 shots in just 19 minutes to go along with 7 boards.

Marcus Thornton also finally got going in the preseason, scoring 17 points on 7-13 shooting with 6 rebounds.  Thornton and Vasquez were terrors on the fastbreak tonight.  Speaking of Vasquez, this was by far his best game as a member of the Kings, and he didn't score a point in it.  Instead he had 12 assists (9 in the 3rd quarter), 3 rebounds, 2 steals and no turnovers.  He showed particularly good rapport with DeMarcus Cousins, feeding the big man at opportune times down low in pick and roll situations.  That's a partnership I really like.

Rookie Ben McLemore didn't have his best shooting night, going just 3-9 and 1-6 from downtown but I still liked what he did.  He was active on both ends of the court, and the shots he was taking weren't bad shots.  He scored 8 points, and managed to contribute elsewhere with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

All in all, this was a very successful preseason.  While wins and losses don't count for anything, the Kings showed in both of the last two games that they can hang with very good teams, and they also showed that they can take care of business against bad teams.  Even in the two losses, the Kings were in the game at some point in the 4th quarter.  In terms of both defense and sharing the ball, the team looked much better than in previous season.  I am hopeful that improvement carries over into the regular season.

The season that many never believed would happen starts Wednesday.  Get excited Sacramento.

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