Nets whip Kings with balanced offense
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brook Lopez led six Brooklyn players in double figures with 18 points on Saturday, as the Nets notched a 113-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Barclays Center.
Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Andray Blatche and MarShon Brooks poured in 15 points apiece, while rookie Mirza Teletovic added a career-high 14 points for the Nets, who improved to 5-1 since P.J. Carlesimo took over for former head coach Avery Johnson.
"I think we've bounced back from the adversity pretty well," Williams said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DeMarcus Cousins paced the Kings with 28 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Thompson followed with 15 points for Sacramento, which had won two straight.
"I felt like the energy wasn't there in the beginning," Cousins said. "It hurt us once again."
The Nets shot a scorching 71.4 percent (15-of-21) over the opening 12 minutes and led by as many as eight before taking a 36-31 edge after one quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The margin was five, 40-35, early in the second before an 11-0 sprint found the home team holding a double-digit advantage.
Teletovic tallied five points in the run before Brooks capped it with a jumper to make it 51-35 with 6:25 left in the second.
Sacramento pulled within 13 late in the stanza following a pair of Cousins free throws, but the Nets netted the final five points of the frame to take a 65-47 advantage into the locker room.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 6-0 Brooklyn surge pushed the lead to 76-53 just over four minutes into the third and the Nets held the Kings at bay from there until a personal 5-0 run from Cousins cut the margin to 85-72 with 1:34 left in the third.
Williams answered with three free throws with under a minute left to send Brooklyn into the fourth holding an 88-72 advantage.
The Nets quickly pressed their lead to 20 early in the fourth and led by double-digits throughout the frame en route to the victory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The Kings wrapped up a four-game road trip at 2-2. They host Memphis on Monday to start a five-game home stand ... Brooklyn shot 51.8 percent (44-for-85) from the field, while Sacramento shot 40.0 percent (36-for-90) from the floor ... Brooklyn outscored Sacramento in the paint, 56-48, and outrebounded the Kings, 51-41 ... Teletovic also set a career-high with six rebounds.