The Sacramento Kings faced a wounded animal in the New Orleans Pelicans tonight. This is a team that has still yet to notch a win this season, with half of their guard line unavailable to play, and a superstar playing out of his mind. This is a dangerous team, one that has been competitive in so many games. And yet, the Kings delivered a performance that was simply good enough, nothing more and nothing less. They kept the Pelicans at arm’s length for most of the game, and survived a late surge thanks to some timely three point shooting.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins, who scored 28 points on 20 shots. Cousins’ production helped offset Anthony Davis’ 34 points. Rudy Gay also chipped in with 21 points of his own, continuing his season-long strong play, and Arron Afflalo did his job with 15 points. Darren Collison returned from his suspension to add 9 points off the bench. For the Pelicans, E’Twaun Moore provided some much-needed scoring with 13 points, and rookie Buddy Hield added 14 points off the bench.

In the decisive fourth quarter, the Kings basically matched the Pelicans blow-for-blow, starting with a seven point lead and finishing the game with a lead of eight. A fadeaway by Gay over the outstretched arms of Davis put the Kings up by 11 with 2 minutes to go. The Pelicans cut the lead down to five after a three pointer from Hield, but a four point play from Afflalo put the Kings back up by nine with just under a minute to go, and that was enough to finish the Pelicans off.

The Kings now stand at 4-5 on the season, having weathered some early season blues, with a shot to get back at .500 against the Lakers on Thursday. Here’s some observations: