The Denver Nuggets played well in their back-to-back-to-back stretch. The
Sacramento Kings are hoping things start looking up after a rough start to
theirs.

The Nuggets will try to keep their perfect home record intact when they face
the Kings on Wednesday night.

Denver (4-2) opened a stretch of three games in three nights with a 92-89
road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, but bounced back with a 99-90
win over the Lakers the following night before recording a 91-86 victory over
Milwaukee on Monday.

The Nuggets, playing without starting forward Nene (bruised heel), showed
signs of fatigue, shooting 39.8 percent while committing 16 turnovers, but
outscored the Bucks 23-12 in the fourth quarter.

Danilo Gallinari finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Ty Lawson had
16 points and six assists.

“They didn’t look like they had three games in three nights,” Milwaukee’s
Stephen Jackson said. “That says a lot about how good of shape they’re in, and
they didn’t have Nene, so you’ve got to credit them for that.”

The win was Denver’s third in as many home games this season. They shut down
the Bucks in the fourth quarter after holding the Lakers to 19 points in the
final period on Sunday. Those teams shot a combined 40.9 percent and were 9 of
42 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.

“In the fourth quarter it’s very easy to find extra energy,” Gallinari said
of feeding off the crowd. “You have a tight game, you want to win, especially at
home.”

Gallinari has elevated his play of late, collecting 41 points, 14 rebounds
and five steals in the last two games. He had 34 points and 14 boards in his
three previous contests.

The Nuggets may need another big game from him if Nene is sidelined again
Wednesday, although Al Harrington has been playing effectively off the bench. He
had 17 points and eight boards Monday and is averaging 15.7 points and 6.5
rebounds.

Like Denver, Sacramento (2-4) began its back-to-back-to-back series with a
113-96 loss to Memphis on Tuesday, but it could have a tougher time bouncing
back.

The Kings were outscored 31-17 in the first quarter, shooting 5 of 20.
Rookie Jimmer Fredette scored a season-high 17 points, shooting 4 of 6 from
3-point range, while J.J. Hickson contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench and had four points and eight rebounds
in 22 minutes. Cousins was told on Sunday to stay away from the team by coach
Paul Westphal after demanding a trade.

“I wouldn’t say it’s resolved,” Westphal said before the game. “We will see
how it plays out. I think DeMarcus has to continue to show maturity and a desire
to go the same direction as his teammates. We’re all hoping that happens.”

Cousins is third on the team with 11.2 points per game and adds 10.6
rebounds.

Sacramento will close this three-game stretch Thursday against Milwaukee.
The Kings starters should be rested after Westphal pulled most of them early
Tuesday. No starter played more than 27 minutes.

The Kings have lost four of five overall against the Nuggets and five
straight in Denver since a 118-115 win on April 5, 2008.

The Sacramento Kings are struggling to open the 2011-12 NBA season. Sacramento lost again on Tuesday January 3 to fall to 2-4 on the season.

The team put together a solid first half before getting blown away in the second half and losing the game 113-96. Not even the return of DeMarcus Cousins helped in this game. Cousins came off the bench and played just 22 minutes. His poor shooting continued as he shot just one out of five from the field on his way to four points and eight rebounds.

The starting unit accounted for only 36 out of 96 points in the game. No NBA team will win a game when they get performances like that from their starting five. The starting unit only made 13 out of 35 shots for just 37% shooting in the game. Sacramento is a young team and needs to get more consistent play out of their stars like Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton.

The one bright spot is that this may have been a breakthrough game for rookie guard Jimmer Fredette. Fredette has struggled coming into this game and has not had an outstanding start to his rookie season. Fredette led the team in scoring and played the most minutes on the team in the loss to Memphis. Fredette made six out of 12 shots including four three pointers on his way to scoring a season high 17 points.

Sacramento also saw a good game off the bench from rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has played very well early on and has earned more playing time off the bench. Thomas finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists.

One of the biggest problems the team is having early in the season has been their lack of assisted baskets in games. This directly translates to the stagnant offense that fans are watching in games. The team is not moving the ball well and the offense is struggling because of it. No player on the team has had a game with more than five assists through six games this season.

Sacramento fans shouldn’t panic quite yet. Several of the teams losses have come against quality opponents so far this season. Sacramento needs to start playing better and more consistent basketball. Once they do, victories will come and the improvement will be evident.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11.

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Rudy Gay scored 23 points, Sam Young added 20 and the Memphis
Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 113-96 on Tuesday night.

O.J. Mayo had 16 points, and Mike Conley _ returning from an
ankle injury _ and Marc Gasol scored 14 points each. Tony Allen
added 10 points. Gasol also had 15 rebounds as Memphis outrebounded
Sacramento 49-41. Tony Allen had 10 points.

With Memphis holding a double-digit lead for a bulk of the
second half, the Kings’ reserves got extended minutes. Jimmer
Fredette scored 17 points and fellow rookie Isaiah Thomas had 15 to
lead Sacramento.

J.J. Hickson was the only Kings starter to reach double figures,
scoring 12 points. Travis Outlaw added 11.

Memphis finished 55 percent from the field, led by Gasol at 7
for 10 and Gay at 10 for 16. The Kings shot 41 percent.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench, as expected, after missing
Sunday’s game against New Orleans when coach Paul Westphal told him
to stay away from the team. Cousins finished with four points on
1-for-5 shooting in 22 minutes.

The Kings were down 17 points early and rallied to tie the score
at 50-all in the final minute. However, Gay’s tip at the buzzer
gave the Grizzlies a two-point lead at the break.

Gay scored 15 points in the first half, and no Kings player was
in double digits. Both teams committed eight turnovers, but the
Kings shot 12 for 18 in the second quarter to get back into the
game.

Memphis then had a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the third
quarter and the Kings never threatened the rest of the way.

The Grizzlies got their offense back on track, scoring off
turnovers and getting out on the break. They also started
controlling the boards as they extended the lead to 23 late in the
third quarter.

Memphis outscored Sacramento 35-18 in the period and led 87-68
going into the fourth.

NOTES: Before the game, Westphal said of the Cousins situation,
“I wouldn’t say it’s resolved. We will see how it plays out. I
think DeMarcus has to continue to show maturity and a desire to go
the same direction as his teammates. We’re all hoping that
happens.” . Conley returned after missing two games with a sprained
left ankle he injured in the second game of the season. .The Kings
were playing the opener of their only stretch of three games in
three days during the compressed season. It was also the third of
five games in six nights. .During the game, it was announced that
Gene Bartow, who served as president of Hoops LLC, the parent
company of FedExForum and the Grizzlies, and a Hall of Fame college
coach, passed away after a long battle with cancer.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Rudy Gay scored 23 points, Sam Young added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 113-96 on Tuesday night.

O.J. Mayo had 16 points, and Mike Conley _ returning from an ankle injury _ and Marc Gasol scored 14 points each. Tony Allen added 10 points. Gasol also had 15 rebounds as Memphis outrebounded Sacramento 49-41. Tony Allen had 10 points.

With Memphis holding a double-digit lead for a bulk of the second half, the Kings’ reserves got extended minutes. Jimmer Fredette scored 17 points and fellow rookie Isaiah Thomas had 15 to lead Sacramento.

J.J. Hickson was the only Kings starter to reach double figures, scoring 12 points. Travis Outlaw added 11.

Memphis finished 55 percent from the field, led by Gasol at 7 for 10 and Gay at 10 for 16. The Kings shot 41 percent.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench, as expected, after missing Sunday’s game against New Orleans when coach Paul Westphal told him to stay away from the team. Cousins finished with four points on 1-for-5 shooting in 22 minutes.

The Kings were down 17 points early and rallied to tie the score at 50-all in the final minute. However, Gay’s tip at the buzzer gave the Grizzlies a two-point lead at the break.

Gay scored 15 points in the first half, and no Kings player was in double digits. Both teams committed eight turnovers, but the Kings shot 12 for 18 in the second quarter to get back into the game.

Memphis then had a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the third quarter and the Kings never threatened the rest of the way.

The Grizzlies got their offense back on track, scoring off turnovers and getting out on the break. They also started controlling the boards as they extended the lead to 23 late in the third quarter.

Memphis outscored Sacramento 35-18 in the period and led 87-68 going into the fourth.

NOTES: Before the game, Westphal said of the Cousins situation, “I wouldn’t say it’s resolved. We will see how it plays out. I think DeMarcus has to continue to show maturity and a desire to go the same direction as his teammates. We’re all hoping that happens.” . Conley returned after missing two games with a sprained left ankle he injured in the second game of the season. .The Kings were playing the opener of their only stretch of three games in three days during the compressed season. It was also the third of five games in six nights. .During the game, it was announced that Gene Bartow, who served as president of Hoops LLC, the parent company of FedExForum and the Grizzlies, and a Hall of Fame college coach, passed away after a long battle with cancer.

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