Fellow fans, we have our first winning streak of the season! In a back and forth affair, the Kings outlasted the Wizards behind big games from DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison. With Rudy Gay (as well as Greg Monroe and Michael Carter-Williams), Ty Lawson (personal reasons), Garrett Temple, Matt Barnes, and Arron Afflalo taking the night off, Dave Joerger employed a unique starting lineup in Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Skal Labbissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, and DeMarcus Cousins. Although he got the starting nod, the Haitian Sensation didn’t stick on the court very long as he was replaced by Omri Casspi four minutes into the game. Even though the Kings shot well overall (60%) and from three point range (47.8%), their 27 turnovers enabled Washington to take 27 more field goal attempts. Boogie acounted for a large portion of those miscues as he coughed the ball up seven times.

Turnover struggles aside, DeMarcus dominated yet another game under Joerger’s offensive scheme. His line of 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists is even more encouraging considering he shot 9/13 from the field. Cousins’ field goal percentage is a scorching 75% in the preseason (27/36) which is astronomically higher than his career average of 46%. Clearly, facing up to the basket is increasing his efficiency as most Kings Fans have theorized over the past couple of years. Darren Collison also had a solid showing as the starting point guard with 22 points, 8 assists, and only 2 turnovers. It’ll be interesting to see if a point guard battle ensues between Lawson and Collison once Darren returns from his suspension in November as they both have played well in the starting role.

The Wizards had a pretty balanced scoring column with seven players scoring in double figures. Andrew Nicholson led Washington with 19 points while Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 15 points of his own and Trey Burke came off of the bench and recorded 10 assists. The Wizards were in the passing lanes all night as they ended the game with 21 steals.

Game Notes

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