DeRozan, Westbrook, and Achiuwa ignite scorching offense, outdueling the Clippers in a dominant road performance.
Play-makers both young and old contributed to the Sacramento Kings' unexpected 118-109 victory over the new-look Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Fresh off of passing Tim Duncan for the No. 18 spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, DeMar DeRozan lit up the Clippers for 27 points and 7 assists on an uber-efficient 11-for-14 shooting night.
Russell Westbrook notched yet another triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals, setting his teammates up while pushing the pace all night long.
Precious Achiuwa raised his free agency stock further with a 25-point, 13-rebound, 4-block performance, and rising rookie Maxime Raynaud added another 23 points and 5 boards while hitting 11 of his 12 attempts from the field.
The story of the night was the Kings' absurdly hot shooting, finishing with a collective 58.5% field goal percentage and 44.4% accuracy from three-point range.
Nique Clifford went 3-for-5 from distance for 11 points, Daeqwon Plowden knocked down 3 of his 4 attempts while pouring in 15 points of his own. Even Achiuwa finished 3-for-4 from deep.
Though it began as an important note for the contest, the return of rookie big man Dylan Cardwell from an ankle injury was cast aside somewhat due to the Kings' unprecedented offensive explosion.
He would not score, but the energetic 6-foot-10 center brought down 6 rebounds and dishes an assist in his 12 minutes.
The Kings came into the contest with a clear game-plan. -- Let Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin get theirs, but no one else.
The Clippers' newly formed trio poured in 31, 25 and 24 points, respectively. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, their combined effort was not enough to push past Sacramento's deep rotation of contributors.
After taking a 33-31 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Kings' defense turned up a notch, allowing just 44 points through the second and third frames.
However, the second half came with several key moments for both sides.
From the 6:58 mark of the third quarter until 2:19 remained, Sacramento's three-point barrage created a 14-3 run, building a 90-70 lead.
The Clippers remained in the fight in the final frame, though. Garland led Los Angeles' comeback try with three straight three-point hits and a few crafty finishes around the rim, scoring 12 of his 25 points in the period.
Los Angeles eventually cut the Kings' lead to 103-100 off of a Mathurin 12-foot jumper with 4:15 to go, but the young Kings turned on the afterburners.
Threes from Westbrook, Plowden and a pair from Clifford sparked a late 15-9 run from 4:14 onward, securing the Kings' third win in their past four outings.
Sure, the tank might have hit a snag as a result of the Kings' winning ways, but winning games against teams with Play-In hopes (at the very least) sure does add a reason to tune in for the rest of this campaign.
Sacramento will aim for back-to-back wins when they take on the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
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