Late in the third quarter of the Hawks’ home game against Sacramento on Wednesday night, Paul Millsap caught three Kings defenders sleeping as he snuck into the lane for a huge, one-handed putback slam. Millsap led Atlanta with 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Hawks were able to eek out a 103-97 win and spoil Rajon Rondo’s third triple double of the season.
Dennis Schroder added 22 points as he filled in once again for Jeff Teague, who missed his third straight game with a sprained ankle. Atlanta was also without Kent Bazemore, who like Teague is nursing an ankle injury. Rondo had 12 points for the Kings on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting from the field, to go along with 12 rebounds, 10 assists and a steal, although he also added seven turnovers on the night.
It was another strong outing for DeMarcus Cousins as he posted a big double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but struggled from the floor as he made just seven of his 20 field goal attempts and was a frigid 1-of-5 from behind-the-arc. The Kings have now dropped 16 straight games against the Hawks, who improved to 8-5 on the season. After a players’ only meeting following their brutal 1-7 start to the season, Sacramento had won three straight going into Wednesday night’s game.
Life won’t get any easier for the Kings as they head out on a five-game road trip starting with the second of their back-to-back in Miami against the Heat on Thursday night.
