SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Marcus Thornton hit five 3-pointers scored a season-high 36 points and the Sacramento Kings snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-95 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.
The Kings set a season high for points and pulled away in the third quarter, shooting 70 percent and scoring 41 points in building a 19-point lead.
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Jason Thompson matched his season high with 21 points and had 15 rebounds for the Kings, who are 3-3 on their franchise-record nine-game homestand.
DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Thomas had 13 points and 10 assists, helping the Kings set a season-best with 29 assists.
Ray Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 26 points for Boston. Paul Pierce had 19 points, Brandon Bass had 16 and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and nine rebounds. Rajon Rondo had four points and 12 assists.
The Celtics had beaten the Kings in the previous eight games by an average of 17 points.
The Celtics, who pulled their starters midway through the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points, are 2-2 on their eight-game road trip which continues Saturday night in Denver.
The points allowed were the most by the Celtics all season.
Ahead by one point at the half, the Kings pulled away in the third quarter when they outscored the Celtics 41-23.
Thornton scored 14 points, Thompson had 10 and Thomas nine for the Kings, who produced their highest scoring quarter of the season and took a 93-74 lead into the fourth.
With the Celtics starting to come back from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter, Garnett picked up his fourth foul when he pushed Cousins in the paint.
Garnett went to the bench and the Kings went on a run. Thornton scored eight straight points, including consecutive 3s that gave Sacramento a 85-68 lead with just under three minutes left in the quarter.
The Kings opened the third quarter with 13 straight points, including seven by Thomas. The rookie guard hit a 3-pointer and Cousins followed with a tip-in, putting Sacramento ahead 65-51.
Tyreke Evans, the Kings’ second-leading scorer, sprained his left ankle in Wednesday’s game against Detroit and did not dress for the game.
Thornton scored 10 points in the first half for the Kings, who went into halftime with a 52-51 lead. Pierce had 15 points for the Celtics and Allen had 13.
HAWKS 102, WIZARDS 88: Joe Johnson matched his season high with 34 points, including the first two baskets of a decisive 11-0 run in the fourth quarter for Atlanta at home.
MAGIC 86, NETS 70: Dwight Howard scored 18 points, Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis each had 13 and Orlando won at home.
HEAT 85, 76ERS 78: LeBron James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Miami held on at Philadelphia.
The Heat almost had a collapse after leading by 29 points in the third quarter. Led by Lou Williams and Evan Turner, the Sixers cut the lead to four points.
KNICKS 115, PACERS 100: Tyson Chandler scored 16 points, Jeremy Lin had 13, and New York rolled at home to its second straight dominant victory under interim coach Mike Woodson.
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, BULLS 89: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and Wesley Matthews added 18 as Portland won at Chicago.
SPURS 114, THUNDER 105: Tony Parker scored 25 points, and Tim Duncan added 16 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for San Antonio at Oklahoma City.
RAPTORS 114, GRIZZLIES 110: Jerryd Bayless scored five of his 28 points in overtime and added nine assists to help Toronto at Memphis, Tenn.
NOTES
Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio will have reconstructive surgery on his injured left knee next week. Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Hornets plan to announce an agreement on a 10-year lease extension at the New Orleans Arena. Greg Oden’s agent said his client is committed to playing basketball again despite his latest knee injury. Dallas starting center Brendan Haywood is expected to miss at least five games with a sprained right knee, which he sustained midway through the third quarter Thursday night against Charlotte. San Antonio signed forward Eric Dawson to a second 10-day contract.
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