Recaps of Tuesday night's Celtics-Kings game, brought to you by Jeremy Gottlieb, staff writer at Patriots Daily.
A second quarter lull hardly mattered to the Celtics, who pulled away from the game but young and inexperienced Sacramento Kings in the second half en route to a 95-90 win and a 3-1 record on their four-game, West coast road trip.
Ray Allen paced the C's with 22 points (9-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-7 three-pointers) and Rajon Rondo added 17 points, 10 assists and four steals for the Celts, who improved to 37-11 with the win. Paul Pierce pitched in with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists and Glen Davis came off the bench to score 14 as Boston overcame the Kings 34-point, 67 percent shooting second quarter to sweep the season series and win its eighth straight overall against Sacramento.
Trailing by nine at the half, the Celts turned up the defense on the Kings in the third, holding the hosts to just 6-for-19 from the floor and 17 points in the third. Boston turned that halftime deficit into a three point lead after three, ultimately holding Sacramento under 25 percent from the floor in the second half. The defensive effort was also reflected in the turnover battle, with the Celts forcing 25 while committing just 16.
Rookie big man DeMarcus Cousins and reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 20 points apiece. The loss snapped a string of three wins in four games for Sacramento, which fell to 12-34.
The Celtics are now off until Friday night when they return home to face the Dallas Mavericks in an ESPN nationally televised game.