The teams second leading scorer and one of the NBAs most productive reserves, he got off to a great start, getting 10 points and three assists in the first quarter when Sacramento established an 11-point lead. With Vasquez, the starting point guard gone, Thomas made his first start of the season. Sacramento has played 13 of its 19 games at home this season, going 4-9. Thomas had 24 points and a career-high 12 assists, and Jason Thompson added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Kings. “… Our next challenge is to figure out the new guys and how theyre going to play and at what position.” Malone knows one thing - Isaiah Thomas will be his starting point guard.
“We didnt care if we had 10 or 15 players, we had enough talent to win this game,” Kings coach Michael Malone said. Using just 10 players, the Kings led by 19 points after three quarters and by as many as 24 in the fourth in winning their second straight. Sacramento shot 47 per cent, had 23 assists, and outscored the sluggish Mavericks 24-3 on fast-break points.
On this night, the Kings showed plenty of offence without Gay. He was Torontos second-leading scorer and has averaged 18 points and 5.9 rebounds in his eight-year career. So this is a good start and I cant wait to get out there with the guys.” A proven scorer, Gay will no doubt add more punch to a Kings lineup that has been unproductive at times this season. “Obviously DeMarcus and Derrick played well. “I guess I came on a good day because the team was playing great,” said Gay, a veteran forward who is expected to make his Kings debut Wednesday at home against Utah. Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes went to the Raptors. Earlier in the day, the Kings completed a seven-player deal with Toronto that brought them Gay, Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 19 rebounds, and Derrick Williams scored a career-high 31 to pace the Kings to a 112-97 victory over Dallas. The short-handed Kings looked formidable against the Mavericks. Rudy Gay watched from a sky box seat as his new Sacramento teammates easily handled the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.