Johnson, Nets have season-best night in beating Kings

-Amir Johnson was solid as always, putting in great effort on the offensive boards. DeMarcus Cousins scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of contested 3-pointers that wowed the crowd. Brooklyn played fantastic [Friday] night, shot the heck out of the ball. 2015 at Atlanta and made at least 10 baskets for the first time since March 16 at Minnesota.

ESPN’s sources said Saturday that it is unlikely Kings assistant coach Nancy Lieberman would take over on an interim basis. “I think his reads, his vision on what’s available is just as good as anybody in the league”.

Wins look promising for the Kings, as this Eastern conference road trip is partly made up the conferences two worst teams-the Nets and 76ers. Bojan Bogdanovic hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points. Almost mirroring him was Rondo, leading the Kings with 11 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals. “This is a big month for me, I’m turning 30; focus on the month of February and try to get some wins before the All-Star Break”.

This was Boston’s highest-scoring first quarter this season and according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones, it was also the most points ever scored in the National Basketball Association since 1996.

“I’d rather keep it in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort”, Cousins said. That’s part of it. There’s going to be games like that.

If you put a star player on team, and a coach that the player doesn’t particularly like, what do you get? Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison each had 16 points. “To score five points inside 8 seconds is a good deal”.

INJURY UPDATE – Rudy Gay (sprained ankle) and Ben McLemore (right wrist sprain) both missed the game due to injury. An X-ray taken following the contest was negative and he will be listed as day-to-day going forward. Many of those points came from long distance, where the Celtics nailed seven of their 13 attempts during the first quarter.

Avery Bradley, Friday night’s hero in Cleveland, erupted with a 25-point performance that included six 3-pointers, to go along with another 22 from Isaiah Thomas on his 27th birthday.

Sacramento Kings coach George Karl said he is focused on his team’s next opponent – not reports that his team is considering a coaching change. Debate between who ultimately was the decider in Thomas departing from Sacramento is still a sore spot for many Kings fans, and I’m sure that the crafty point guard will play Sunday’s game as if he’s playing any other team. Casspi struggled from the outside, but he attacked the rim on his way to 13 points.