The Sacramento Kings held on for most of the first half, taking a 52-51 lead into halftime, before succumbing in the second half to the same old bad habits of inefficient offensive basketball. Sacramento shot an okay 46%, but again had trouble creating offense on the move, putting in 19 assists as compared to 16 turnovers. The Kings continued to struggle with fatigue and faded down the stretch.
DeMarcus Cousins put in 28 points and 12 rebounds, and got some support from John Salmons who got 14 points, Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette put in 12 points, but Thornton, Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas shot 10 for 32 and the Kings couldn't recover from the lack of production from their guards.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 28 points on 13-23 shooting, six rebounds, three assists three steals and three blocks, Joe Johnson put in 21 points, six assists and four steals, Jeff Teague added 16 points and seven assists, and Zaza Pachulia added 10 points and 13 boards.
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