Rondo’s cutting layup with 12 seconds left lifts Kings past Hawks
Rajon Rondo made a cutting layup on a pass from DeMarcus Cousins with 12 seconds left, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Atlanta Hawks 91-88 for their fourth straight win.
Dennis Schröder’s 3-pointer had tied it at 88 with 28 seconds left.
The Hawks had the ball down 2 with 12 seconds left, but Omri Casspi stole the ball from Paul Millsap, lifting the Kings’ chance to win from 92% to 95%. A basket would have tied the game.
During clutch time, the teams each scored 8. Schröder scored 5 of the Hawks’ 8 on 2 for 3 shooting. Late in the fourth quarter, Casspi had 3 of his 5 steals, all with the game within five points.
Cousins had 24 points, 16 rebounds and 3 steals. Casspi added 13 points and a season-high 5 steals. Willie Cauley-Stein added 12 points (10 in the paint) and a career-high 11 rebounds, and Rondo had 11 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists but shot 5 for 16. Rondo assisted on 6 of Cousins’ 10 baskets, 2 of them in the fourth quarter.
For the Hawks, Millsap had 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks.
The Kings grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to the Hawks’ 7. The Hawks outscored the Kings 39-17 off the bench. The Hawks’ starters were outscored 28-17 in 12 minutes together.