The streak is over.

Marcus Thornton and Isaiah Thomas caught fire in the second half, leading the Sacramento Kings to the 115-107 road victory over the Washington Wizards.  The win ends a season-high six-game losing skid.

Thornton scored 18 of his 22 points after intermission.  Thomas added 16 points in the third and fourth quarters combined and finished with 18 points and six assists.

Tyreke Evans did a ton of damage in the first half, scoring 20 of his 22 points before intermission.  DeMarcus Cousins added 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but joined Evans on the bench in the deciding fourth quarter.  Following an impressive performance in Miami, veteran Francisco Garcia gave a spirited effort off the Kings bench with 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting.

Wizards guard John Wall barely missed a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in defeat.  Sixth man Jordan Crawford lit up the Kings, scoring 32 points on 12-for-19 shooting.  The second-year guard scored 15 in the second quarter, helping his team to a 68-60 lead at halftime.  Unfortunately for the Wizards, they faded in the second half where they were outscored 55-39 on the way to an eight-point loss.

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The Sacramento Kings play their final game before All-Star Break.  They try to end a season-high six-game losing streak against the Washington Wizards in our nation’s capital.

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Following their last practice before their current six-game road trip, Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart took some extra time off-the-court to work with Jimmer Fredette.

“Just talking about shooting percentages from different areas on the floor,” the Kings rookie said to me when I asked what he and Smart discussed.  “Kind of the stat chart of where you’re shooting the best and where you’re shooting worst and different types of stuff like that.”

Learning experiences like this can be just as important as floor time in a young player’s development.  Just look at Jeremy Lin.

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Starting in just his third career game, rookie Isaiah Thomas did everything in his power to keep tonight’s contest in South Beach close.

Thomas scored an incredible 20 points in the third quarter, including knocking down five of his six three-point attempts on his way to a 24-point, five assist night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for the Sacramento Kings, who lost their sixth game in a row, 120-108 to the Miami Heat.

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 30 points, but Mario Chalmers kept the Heat going.  The former Kansas Jayhawk scored 20 points, including six made three-point attempts.  Chris Bosh scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards, while LeBron James kicked in 18 for the Heat, who now stand at 26-7 following their seventh consecutive win.

Marcus Thornton scored 23 points for the Kings, including a late barrage of three-pointers to end the first half.  Tyreke Evans finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and chipped in 10 assists, while Jason Thompson finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

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Two teams going in two different directions.  The Sacramento Kings try to avoid a season-high six-game losing streak, while the Miami Heat hope to continue a season-long win streak.  Tonight, the two teams meet in a squabble on South Beach.

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With 2.9 seconds remaining, DeMarcus Cousins rolled through the lane and flipped in what looked to be the game winner for the Sacramento Kings.   But with the clock ticking and his team leading by one, Tyreke Evans made an unforgivable mistake tonight.

The third-year guard reached in and fouled rookie Kyrie Irving, who sank two free throws with four-tenths of a second left to give the Cavs a 93-92 home win, sending the Kings to their fifth consecutive loss.

Regardless of the outcome, Isaiah Thomas was the star of the night .  Matched-up against Irving, the first pick in the 2011 NBA draft, and starting just his second game as a pro, Mr. Irrelevant barely missed a triple-double.  He led the Kings with 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Irving was impressive as a scorer, but he didn’t pick up his first assist until late in the third quarter.  But in the end, Irving gets the praise for hitting two game-winning free throws in the waning seconds.  His 23 points led the Cavs on the night, while veteran Antawn Jamison chipped in 21 of his own and added eight rebounds.

Tristan Thompson, the Cavs other top four pick, notched a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds off the bench.

Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and a surprising 10 rebounds for the Kings, who drop to 10-21 on the season.

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Riding their second-longest losing streak of the season, the Sacramento Kings visit Ohio for a match-up with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Today’s game is the first and only meeting between the two clubs this season.

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Call it youth.  Call it inexperience or poor chemistry.  Something is missing in the Sacramento Kings locker room and the result is a schizophrenic team on the floor.

Fingers have been pointed.  One job has already been lost and there will likely be more casualties in this frantic, shortened season, if the current losing trend continues.  This is a mess of epic proportion and Keith Smart, as long as he is head coach, must figure out a way to tame the young talent that is in front of him.

Smart is doing his best.  He has made a point to try and build a family both inside and outside the locker room.  He takes players to dinner and promotes that they do the same with each other.  When a Kings player hits the floor, teammates now rush to help him up in a show of solidarity.  It’s forced, but it’s a start.

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The Sacramento Kings walked into the Motor City Friday trying to snap a three-game losing streak.  However the Detroit Pistons, who trailed most of the game, hung around and after a late third quarter surge, pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 114-108 victory.

Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey scored 36 points on 12-for-20 shooting , while his rookie backcourt mate, Brandon Knight added 23 points and dished out a career high 10 assists.  Tayshaun Prince had a strong night as well, scoring 22 points, grabbing a team-high ten rebounds and handing out five assists.

DeMarcus Cousins shook off lower back spasms and pinned 26 points and 15 rebounds on fellow second year big man Greg Monroe.  Rookie Isaiah Thomas got the start tonight at point guard for coach Keith Smart,  who was trying to shake things up a little bit for the struggling Kings.  Thomas responded early with a strong first quarter, but played only sparingly the rest of the way.  Marcus Thornton scored 24 points in the loss for the Kings, who fell to ten games under .500 for the first time this season.

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Editor’s note: DeMarcus Cousins was originally ruled out of tonight’s game because of back spasms. He will now play reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. This preview was written before that news broke.

In the third game of their longest road trip of the season, the Sacramento Kings will be without their young franchise center when they take on the Detroit Pistons.

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