John Salmons scores 22 points as Kings end 5-game home skid

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Though there was nothing special about this late-season meeting between two losing teams, any game against New Orleans is meaningful to Marcus Thornton.

The Sacramento Kings guard grew up in Louisiana and played parts of two seasons with the Hornets. Thornton wasn’t about to overlook the Hornets and neither did the Kings.

John Salmons had 22 points, and Thornton and Jason Thompson each added 20 to help Sacramento snap a four-game losing streak with a 121-110 victory on Wednesday night.

The streak-shooting Thornton came off the bench late in the first quarter and hit a 3-pointer. He added three more 3s in the second quarter and had 15 first-half points, helping the Kings build a 17-point lead.

“Every time we play the Hornets I want to win really bad,” said Thornton, who came to the Kings midway through the 2010-11 season.

Thornton shot 8 of 13 and had five rebounds against the Hornets, who defeated the Kings twice this season in New Orleans.

“It was very tough losing two games to them there this season,” Thornton said. “It was especially tough with all my family and friends there.”

The Kings had a double-digit lead for much of the game and surpassed the 100-point mark early in the fourth quarter, when they stretched the lead to 30 points.
Sacramento shot 55 percent, made 10 of 20 3-pointers, and had 26 assists.


(washingtonpost.com)