by Charlie O. Mallonee
Garrett Temple scored a career-high 34 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 105-99 road win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. The victory snapped the Kings eight-game losing streak and came in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road.
The Kings trailed the Magic by one point – 53 to 52 – at the half. Orlando managed to established a five point lead by the end of the third quarter, and it appeared that Sacramento might be headed to their third consecutive loss on the six-game road and their eighth loss in a row.
The Kings rallied in the fourth quarter behind an incredible 19 point scoring barrage put on by Garrett Temple. Temple shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor including hitting 3-of-3 three-point shots. He was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Temple by himself outscored the entire Orlando Magic squad in the final period.
“Garrett has been a fantastic leader for us and I couldn’t be happier,” Sacramento coach Dave Joerger told the AP. “He’s the ultimate professional. For him to have this kind of night, I’m just tickled. He deserves it.”
Stars of the Game
Kings
- Garrett Temple is the “no-brainer” winner of the star of the game designation for Tuesday night. Temple’s previous career-high point game was 23 points. He hit 14-of-17 shots versus Orlando and managed to grab five rebounds as well in just over 40 minutes of playing time.
- Willie Cauley-Stein gets a co-star credit for putting up 21 points against the Magic. He shot 50-percent from the floor (9-for-18) and converted 4-of-5 free throws. Cauley-Stein also pulled down nine rebounds.
Magic
- Guard Evan Fournier was the star of the game for the Magic as he scored 22 points and handed out four assists. Fournier did not shoot particularly well hitting 7-of-17 attempts overall and converting just 2-of-10 from 3-point range. The Magic backcourt man did go a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
- Orlando’s other starting guard – Elfrid Payton – earns the co-star honors for scoring 21 points against the Kings while dishing out seven assists and pulling down seven rebounds. Payton hit 9-of-14 field goals.
Key stats
Sacramento
- The Kings shot an impressive 49.4-percent (43-for-87) from the field for the game. They shot just 30.8-percent from behind the 3-point line but the eight 3-point field goals the Kings hit were a big key to their win.
- Sacramento did something on Tuesday night that they have not done for a while and that is out-rebound their opponent. The Kings hauled in 44 rebounds to the Magic’s 40.
- The Kings also did a better job of taking care of the ball as they turned it over just 14 times (good for 16 Orlando points) while posting 24 assists. That is close the desired 2-to-1 ratio a coach wants to see from his team.
- Sacramento also had a remarkable 11 blocked shots in the game. Willie Cauley-Stein led the team with five blocked shots of his own.
Orlando
- The Magic tried to manipulate the Kings weakness in stopping the 3-point shot. They attempted 31 three-point field goals and made 11 of them.
- Orlando turned the ball over 17 times (22 Kings points) while posting 23 assists.
- The Magic tried outrun the Kings by using the fast break. Orlando outscored SAC 20-7 on the break in the game.
- Both teams have a record of 14-33 after the contest on Tuesday.
Notes
- The Kings sat George Hill and Kosta Koufos against the Magic. Since the Kings have committed to the youth movement, they have rested two veterans each game.
- There are many rumors flying around about trade for George Hill to the Cleveland Cavaliers that would possibly bring Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and possibly a 2nd-round draft pick to the Kings.
- New rumors started to circulate on Tuesday that Sacramento is looking to trade Malachi Richardson and Skal Labissiere to open to spots on the roster.
Up next
Kings
Sacramento will return to action on Thursday night in Miami. The Kings have not won in Miami in 16 years.
Magic
Orlando is off until Saturday when they will travel to Indiana to face the Pacers.
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