Final Score: Nuggets Clobber Kings, 122 to 97

That was awful.

Sacramento suffered its worse loss of the season, losing to the Denver Nuggets 122 to 97. Even that score makes it look closer than it actually was, as the only reason the Nuggets didn't win by 40+ was because they wisely chose to rest their starters once the game was out of reach.

The Kings shot an abysmal 34.1% from the floor while the Nuggets torched them for 54.1% on six less shots from the field. Sacramento had more Field Goal Attempts, Three Point Attempts and Free Throw Attempts but could not buy a basket due to terrible execution and bad defense. The Nuggets were the complete opposite, moving and sharing the ball on offense (27 assists), and rotating extremely well on defense. While the Nuggets didn't set an NBA record for points in the paint like they did last year, they still scored a huge amount there at 64 points. Most of those were dunks, where backup Center Javale McGee was particularly prolific. McGee scored a team-high 19 points in 21 minutes on 7-9 shooting, almost exclusively on dunks. Five other Nuggets scored in double figures, and every single Nugget that played scored.

Sacramento meanwhile was led by Isaiah Thomas' 20 points off the bench. Thomas shot just 3-10 from the field but got the the line 15 times. He also added 3 rebounds and 4 assists, but did have 4 turnovers. The Kings as a team didn't have many turnovers (9) but it's hard to turn the ball over when hardly anybody is passing the ball; The team finished with just 13 assists.

DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson both had double-doubles in the loss, although only Thompson can legitimately say he played a good game. Thompson finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes and was the only King to really make an impact while the game was still in reach. Cousins had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 5-14 and was particularly terrible on the defensive side of the ball, where the Nuggets caught him napping several times with passes into guys like McGee or Kosta Koufos.

Kings guard Tyreke Evans left the game after the first quarter and did not return as his sore left knee bothered him.

Sacramento will get the chance to bounce back tomorrow in Phoenix. Considering they weren't really playing in this game, they should be well rested.

Tom will have a full recap of this travesty tomorrow morning. For the opponent's perspective, check out Denver Stiffs.

Nostradumbass of the Night was jtkings13 with 7 points.