For one night, the Kings were not the butt of NBA jokes.
In the wake of Sunday night’s trade that sent three-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to New Orleans – a transaction for which general manager Vlade Divac was heavily criticized for not getting enough in return – the remaining players in Sacramento were deemed a collection of unwatchable misfits.
But instead of beginning to tumble in the Western Conference, the Kings pulled together Thursday night and beat the Denver Nuggets 116-100 at Golden 1 Center in Game 1 of the post-Cousins era.
“They was killing us, killing Vlade, killing everybody,” said guard Ty Lawson following the game.