KING JAMES BOW TO THE KINGS OF SACRAMENTO
Cleveland Cavaliers continues slump as Sacramento Kings hands defending champ their sixth loss in eight games DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 28 points, but Afflalo’s triple in final 17.3 secs in OT lift Kings to victory
Afflalo dropped a 3-pointer with 17.3 seconds left in overtime, lifting the Sacramento Kings to a 116-112 win Wednesday night over the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost for the sixth time in eight games amid criticism by LeBron James in Cleveland.
DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who trailed by five in overtime before battling back. Darren Collison added 23 points for Sacramento.
After Afflalo's 3, James missed a deep 3-point attempt for the Cavs, who were then forced to foul Cousins. Sacramento's big man dropped one of two to put away the reeling NBA champions.
James finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and Kevin Love had 21 points and 16 rebounds, but it wasn't enough. This was the Cavs' first game since James called the team's roster "top heavy" and questioned whether the organization was fully committed to winning a second title.
In Charlotte, Kevin Durant scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, Stephen Curry added 28 points on six 3-pointers in his annual homecoming game and the Golden State Warriors rallied to beat the Charlotte Hornets, 113-103.
Klay Thompson had 19 points for the Warriors, who avenged a 105-102 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.
Curry capped a memorable trip home to Charlotte in which he had his high school jersey retired and was honored at Davidson College with the naming of "Section 30" at Belk Arena where the Wildcats play their home games. Curry's return following his second MVP award drew a crowd of 19,639, the largest crowd to see a game at the Spectrum Center.
Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 26 points while battling through an illness.
In New Orleans, Russell Westbrook had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, passing Larry Bird with his 60th career triple-double, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 114-105.
Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis left late in the second quarter after re-aggravating a right thigh injury that kept him out of New Orleans' upset of Cleveland on Monday night.
“It certainly wasn’t appropriate from a teammate perspective,” Griffin said. “The comment about the organization being complacent is really misguided... “Organizationally there is absolutely no lack of clarity on what our set goal is. We are here to win championships and there is no other solution, there is no other outcome that is acceptable and there never has been.” DAVID GRIFFIN Gen. Manager Cleveland Cavaliers on LeBron James’ issues about team