What. A. Game.

On the other end, Kobe missed a layup thanks to some tough defense by Tyreke Evans, who was fantastic on that end all night. Not ones to stop something that's working, the Kings went back to Cousins again, and this time he was fouled by Howard. He made one of two from the line to give the Kings a 12 point lead with a 1:31 left and it was essentially a formality from then on.

Sacramento also outworked the Lakers on the glass, 41 to 27. They gave up just 6 offensive rebounds to LA. The Kings defense did a pretty great job on everyone except for Kobe Bryant and Jodie Meeks, but most of their damage came from the perimeter. The Kings absolutely dominated the paint on both ends of the court, scoring 50 points in the paint to just 22 for the Lakers. LA was also not able to get out and run, usually a staple of a Mike D'Antoni led team. They ended with just 4 fast break points. LA was also sloppy with the ball, and combined with Sacramento's defensive effort, led to just 16 assists to 20 turnovers. The Lakers had just four assists at the end of the first half. Meanwhile the Kings moved the ball well with 23 assists to 16 turnovers and shot a season-high 54.3% as a result. Sacramento finished with 15 more made field goals than LA, who again, did most of their damage from outside or at the stripe.

James Johnson had probably his best game of the year thanks to his defensive effort and patience within the offense. Johnson scored just 6 points, but on 3-5 shooting, mostly coming at the rim. He also had five assists, two steals and a block. This is the kind of game I want to see from Johnson on a more regular basis.

Rookie Thomas Robinson only played 10 minutes, but he brought in some nice energy on both ends. He scored a couple baskets, including a nice looking jumper from the baseline. He also grabbed three rebounds and had a big block on Dwight.

Speaking of blocks, Tyreke Evans had a truly magnificent one on Ron-Ron during a fastbreak attempt. I won't try to describe it, just watch it:

Evans was suffocating on defense, particularly in that great third quarter. He also had the ball in his hands a lot more, and while he did commit five turnovers, for the most part he made good decisions. It's games like this that remind me just how good Tyreke Evans can be. I think we'll be seeing a lot more of Evans as the primary playmaker going forward and hopefully we'll see performances like this on a more consistent basis.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Random Observations: