LeBron James Records Triple-Double, But Vince Carter Shines In Sacramento Kings' 109-95 Victory
Cleveland Cavaliers star player LeBron James grabs one of five steals he had against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Kings won 109-95. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Dec. 27, 2017.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. — About 12 seconds before the game ended between the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night, LeBron James had seen enough. He jumped off the bench and headed towards the Cavaliers’ locker room.
The Kings (12-22) convincingly beat Cleveland 109-95 with help from an unsuspecting hero. Forty-year-old Vince Carter came off the bench to will the Kings to victory behind 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists, one steal, and one blocked shots.
Sacramento was able to win its second-consecutive game on the second night of a back-to-back and they did it after losing to the Los Angeles Clippers 122-95 the night before. Carter, who made 10 of 12 shots from the field and 4 of 5 3-pointers, was definitely the lift that the Kings needed.
“I mean he made some bombs,” James said of Carter after the game. “He’s a Hall-of-Famer for a reason. Let’s not take that for granted. Once he got going, we couldn’t slow him down.”
Publicity Agents OpticalVision. Footage by T. Ray Harvey
Willie Cauley-Stein, who returned to the bench, had 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists while Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 16 points, eight assists, and four steals in a reserve role for the Kings.
“They changed their lineup,” Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said of the Kings. “We didn’t prepare for that, but that’s no excuse. They beat us.”
James led Cleveland (24-11) had a triple-double, recording 16 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds. James also had five steals in a losing cause. Kevin Love added 23 points five rebounds, and two blocked shots.
The the back-to-back defeat is the first since the Cavs lost four in a row between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 earlier in the season. The Cavaliers lost 99-92 on Christmas Day to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland before arriving in Sacramento.
“Their bench was particularly good tonight,” Love said of the Kings. “We just couldn't withstand their runs and Vince did a great job of hitting big shots for them.”
The Cavs were up 28-27 after one quarter of play. After both teams were knotted up at 38-38, the Kings went on a 22-9 run, completed with a 3-point shot to make the score 60-47 with 3:35 left in the second frame.
Kings led 62-55 at the half by making 13 of 22 shots from the floor, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. The Kings bench scored 28 of the team’s 34 points in the second quarter.
The Cavs jumped out early on a 9-2 run to take a 67-66 lead on a trey by J.R. Smith with 8:57 left to play in the third quarter. The Kings came back to tie game at 71-71, and then proceeded with a 85-80 margin after Carter made two straight 3-pointers, the second one as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter.
Before the Cavaliers realized anything or could hit a basket, the Kings lead 94-80 after Bogdanovic made a 3-point shot in the fourth quarter with 8:38 left to play. The Kings lead by 17 points after a trey by Garrett Temple. The Cavs got no closer than 12 points in the final 12 minutes.
“We had a little more zip to us tonight,” Kings head coach Dave Joerger said. “I’m really proud how hard we competed coming off a stinker last night. We played every single guy. You don’t beat a team like that without having everyone contribute.”
PUBLIC INFORMATION:
Sacramento Kings:
The Kings bench outscored the Cavaliers’ bench 68-32. It’s the sixth time this season Sacramento’s reserves scored at least 60 points. The Kings are 2-4 in such games.
The Kings rank tied for fourth in the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 38.3 percent. Sacramento made 12 of 40 shots beyond the arc at 40 percent against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
LeBron James recorded his seventh triple-double of the season, which is now 62 for his career. It was also James’ fourth loss in his career to the Sacramento Kings.
On The Marquee
Sacramento Kings: Host Phoenix Suns on Dec. 29.
San Antonio Spurs: On the road at Utah on Dec. 30.
By T. Ray Harvey | PA Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist
Twitter: Tony Ray Harvey @PublicityAgents
T. Ray (Antonio) Harvey is a Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist for Publicity Agents. Harvey is also the author of The HOMICIDAL HANDYMAN OF OAK PARK: MORRIS SOLOMON JR.
