Rondo’s dunk lifts Kings against Knicks

SACRAMENTO – Rajon Rondo had 16 points, 12 assists and a jaw-dropping dunk in the fourth quarter that led the Sacramento Kings to a 99-97 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday (Friday Manila time).

Rondo added nine rebounds to finish just shy of his fifth triple-double of the season. DeMarcus Cousins had 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who have just their second winning streak of the season. Sacramento also won three in a row in November.

Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and 14 rebounds but missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Knicks, who have lost four straight and eight of the past 10 games.

New York trailed by 19 before making it close in the fourth quarter. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis’ three-point play cut Sacramento’s lead to three points late in the period.

Sacramento Kings’ Rajon Rondo, center, drives to the basket against New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis. AP

The Kings then cleared it out for Rondo, who burst past Jose Calderon and went flying in for the one-hand slam with Anthony only able to watch.

But the Knicks did not go away, cutting the lead back to two on Anthony’s drive with 8.6 seconds to play. Darren Collison then lost the ball on the inbound pass with 4.6 seconds to play, but Anthony missed from near midcourt with the shot that would have won it.

Rondo helped Sacramento build a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter with a few highlight-reel plays. He faked an around-the-back pass before driving past Porzingis for a layup and then fed Cousins for a three-point play the next trip down to put Sacramento up 70-51 on his 10th assist of the night.

One night after losing by 21 in Utah in a game they only led when it was 2-0, the Knicks started slowly again against the more-rested Kings. Coach Derek Fisher had intimated that he might switch up his starting lineup to spark his team but decided to stick with his usual five.

It didn’t matter. Sacramento built an eight-point lead in the first quarter and expanded it to 15 midway through the second when Cousins emphatically sent in a one-handed dunk over Robin Lopez.

But the Knicks managed to whittle the deficit down to 46-39 at the break.