NBA -- In a bit of passing fancy, Kings get rare road win

SACRAMENTO -- Early in this tempestuous season, center DeMarcus Cousins suggested that for the Kings to move steadily upward in the overall standings, they need to play together as one cohesive unit and willingly pass the ball around.

On Wednesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the talented Cousins practiced what he preached and dished six of his team's 22 assists.. The 6-foot-11, 270-pound pivot also dropped 18 points and gathered 16 rebounds as the Kings registered a convincing 97-94 road triumph over the Cavaliers.

It was only the Kings' second road win in 15 tries, but they've won three of their last four assignments overall. Their last hiccup was a 103-97 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons on New Year's day at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

""I keep saying I feel like when the team shares the ball, we're hard to beat. And if I've got to take away from my shots just to get everyone else going in the spirit of sharing the ball, I'll do that," Cousins told the Sacramento Bee, reiterating the value of teamwork as the cornerstone to success.

The Kings are also hard to beat when Cousins doesn't have to single-handedly carry the offense. And that's what the floundering 7-26 Cavs found out the hard away in front of their home crowd.

Jason Thompson, a bulky 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward, stood shoulder-to-shoulder alongside Cousins with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Francisco Garcia added 14 and Aaron Brooks chipped in 13. The concerted production allowed the Kings to escape with a win despite shooting only 38-of-88 (43.2 percent) from the field and 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from above the three-point arc.

Kyrie Irving kept Cleveland within a puncher's chance of a mild upset and amassed 22 points, five rebounds and six assists while Dion Waters, Alonzo Gee and C.J. Miles combined for 48 points. But it wasn't enough as the Cavaliers missed 53 of 87 shots and converted only five of 21 threes.

With a 12-20 won-lost record, Kings are decidedly out of the playoffs picture. They are 4 1/2 games behind the 16-15 Portland TrailBlazers for the eighth and last playoffs berth in the Western Conference. (AMJR)

Photo: Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins (right) powers his way past his defender and scored 18 points as Sacramento beat the Cavs, 97-94, Wednesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena. in Cleveland.