Rudy Gay, Kings hand Knicks worst loss of season, 124-86

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rudy Gay scored 25 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 22 and Ben McLemore finished with 20 and the Sacramento Kings handed the New York Knicks their worst loss of the season Tuesday, 124-86.

The Kings (21-37) scored the first four points and never trailed. They built the lead to 16 after the first quarter and to as many as 44 in in the second half before winning by 38.

Alexey Shved led the Knicks with 15 points. Jason Smith and Shane Larkin had 13 each.

After shooting only 35 percent (7-for-20) from the field in the first quarter, the Knicks (12-47) were even worse in the second, going 6-for-24 for 25 percent.

Their previous worst loss was by 28 points to Charlotte at home, 110-82, on Jan. 10.

Sacramento started the second half on a 27-9 run and opened up a game-high 44-point lead, 92-48, on Gay's 3-pointer with 6:01 left in the third.

The Knicks responded by scoring the next 12 points and eventually got as close as 28 points, 100-72, on Smith's jumper early in fourth. That was as close as they came.

Gay, Cousins and McLemore all sat out the fourth quarter.

Cousins finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, while also going 11-for-11 from the foul line.

Derrick Williams scored 17 points for the Kings. Nik Stauskas added 15 and Omar Casspi had 14.

Shved and Cole Aldrich each had seven rebounds for New York.

TIP-INS

Kings: Now are 3-3 under coach George Karl. ... Cousins, the Kings' first All-Star since 2004, returned to action after missing Sacramento's two previous games due to a left ankle sprain and left hip contusion. ... The Kings defeated the Knicks, 135-129, in the teams' only other meeting this season on Dec. 27 in Sacramento. ... The Knicks game is the beginning of an eight-game road trip, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 26, but postponed due to a snow storm.

Knicks: Fell short of their season-best three-game winning streak, which they achieved from Jan. 19-23. ... Exactly 60 years ago, on March 3, 1954, the Knicks played their first and only game in Westchester County, N.Y. They defeated the Philadelphia Warriors 88-79 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. New York's D-League team, the Westchester Knicks, now plays its home games there ... Aldrich scored a career-high 19 points in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 27.

UP NEXT

Kings: At San Antonio on Wednesday

Knicks: At Indiana on Wednesday

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