Kings at Nuggets
Fans should get a chance to see the Denver Nuggets and visiting Sacramento Kings face off at full strength when they meet Monday night. That wasn’t the case in their previous two meetings, however. Denver point guard Ty Lawson missed their most recent clash in February, a 14-point win by the Kings in Denver, and DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay of the Kings sat out the matchup a month earlier, an eight-point win by the Nuggets in Sacramento.
Gay and Cousins were at their best Sunday afternoon in a surprising 98-92 win against the Clippers, as Cousins finished with 34 points and 17 rebounds and Gay had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Nuggets failed to take advantage of an injury-depleted Oklahoma City squad Friday night and lost on the road 102-91 after falling behind by 24 points in the second quarter. Lawson scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and the veteran should have a huge edge in his matchup against Kings journeyman point guard Darren Collison.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN-CA (Sacramento), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE KINGS (2-1): The Nuggets don’t have much to counter with against Cousins. Denver center Timofey Mozgov may have a slight height advantage, but he can get overwhelmed down low pretty easily, evident by the two rebounds he collected in the loss to the Thunder. Cousins has not only scored at will against the Nuggets in recent games, but he recorded is career high five blocked shots against Denver in March, 2013.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (1-1): Kenneth Faried is coming off his best season as a pro, averaging 13.6 points and shooting 54.5 percent from the field. He emerged as a star for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup this summer after Paul George and Kevin Durant suffered injuries. His performance this summer helped Faried earn a five-year, $60 million extension last month. The 22nd overall pick out of Morehead State in 2011 had 22 points and 17 rebounds in the season-opening win against the Pistons, but tallied just seven points and six rebounds in the loss to Oklahoma City.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Faried averaged 18.1 points and 10.1 rebounds following the All Star break last season.
2. The Kings are attempting to start 3-1 for the first time since 2010-11.
3. Sacramento has held the Clippers, Trail Blazers and Warriors, three of the top-10 scoring teams last season, under 100 points this fall.