After losing three players after a trade with the Houston Rockets, the Sacramento Kings would start their five-game road trip short-handed against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich, the three new Kings players acquired from Houston, are expected to play on Sunday.
The Kings took off running and led 27-14 with 3:20 left in the first quarter but game slowly changed in the Hawks' favor.
Atlanta scored 19 points off the Kings' 12 turnovers in the first half to get them back into the game. While Josh Smith drained a desperation three-pointer to end the half, the clock started late and the basket was erased to give the Kings a 63-61 lead.
The Kings' shooting went cold in the second half and the Hawks took advantage with a 10-3 run late in the third quarter. They never caught up and saw the Hawks run away with a 122-108 win.
Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 30 points and team-high nine assists. His streak of consecutive free throws made came to an end at 46, falling short of Mike Bibby's Kings record of 51.
DeMarcus Cousins finished with 26 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and three steals and Tyreke Evans added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
For the Hawks, Al Horford had 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a game-high two blocks and Jeff Teague had 20 points and 12 assists. Josh Smith had 18 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 17 points.
The loss in Atlanta was the Kings' 10th straight. Kings coach Keith Smart said that his team gave up too many turnovers and didn't play defense:
When you're playing well offensively, you forget about the other side of the ball (defense) and I think, sometimes, you get to that point where you're feeling good.
You think you're going to win the game with your offense and I mentioned before the game that this was going to be a defensive game. You're going to win this game with your defense. ... We didn't do a whole lot of defense today.
The Kings will play the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. PST.
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