After a crazy overtime contest against the Chicago Bulls, the next game was even more insane as the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers played two overtimes and the Cavs outlasted the Kings 144-141 behind LeBron James’ 66-point effort.
Both teams gave up double-digit leads at some point in the contest. James hit a shot at the regulation buzzer to send the game to overtime, while the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis hit a jumper with a few seconds left in the first OT to tie and extend the contest.
Mitch Richmond scored a season-high 37 points and sank eight three-pointers to lead the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins and Peja Stojakovic each scored 23 points.
James went 22-for-37 from the field, sank five three-pointers and went 17-for-20 from the foul line. Fifty-three of his points came after halftime. Kyrie Irving had 28 points before fouling out late in the game.
Cousins had six points in an early 8-0 that gave the Kings a 15-9 lead. They kept the lead for the remainder of the first quarter and went up 26-20 at its end.
Sacramento led for the entirety of the second quarter. A Richmond three-pointer gave the Kings an 11-point lead, what would turn out to be the largest of the game for either team, at 53-42. It was 59-51 at halftime.
After a fairly quiet first half of 13 points, James took over in the third quarter. He scored 21 of the Cavaliers’ 40 points in the period. The Kings led at 71-62 but the Cavaliers took their first lead since early on at 84-83 after two James free throws. The Cavs went into the final quarter with a 91-88 lead.
Irving scored two quick baskets to give the Cavaliers their largest lead of 10 points at 103-93 with about eight minutes left. But, the Kings immediately responded with a 13-0 run, which included two three-pointers by Richmond, to take back the lead at 106-103.
Richmond gave the Kings a 115-112 lead in the final minute, but Irving converted a three-point play to tie it. Richmond hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to put the Kings up by two, but James’ basket at the buzzer tied the game at 117 and sent it to overtime.
James scored all 14 of Cleveland’s points in the first overtime period. He scored six straight points to give the Cavaliers a 129-124 lead, but Richmond hit a three-pointer and Oscar Robertson made two free throws to tie it at 129. James sank two free throws with 20 seconds left to give Cleveland the lead, but Sabonis came through with a late basket to tie it again.
Back-to-back baskets by James and Larry Nance put Cleveland ahead 138-135 in the second OT. From there, the teams pretty much traded points. Every time the Kings got within one, the Cavaliers would immediately come back and score. A late basket by Mark Price iced the win.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 