With both the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks going into Wednesday night’s game on a five-game and six-game losing streak respectively, both teams were looking to get back on the winning track.

You would think the Kings would have a good chance of winning this one. Star guard Tyreke Evans was good to go after spraining his left ankle in Sunday’s loss against the Detroit Pistons, and they were playing a 3-8 Knicks team that was just coming off a high-scoring game against the Denver Nuggets the night before.

But with the help of a monster 40-point second quarter, the Knicks were the ones who would leave Arco Arena victorious, and the Kings still searching for answers along with a six-game skid.

Amar’e Stoudemire and Danilo Gallinari each chipped in with 27 points as the Knicks beat the Kings 113-106. Stoudemire recorded a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his stat line.

Evans and Carl Landry led the Kings with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Beno Udrih, who was replaced by Luther Head in the starting lineup, contributed to the Kings’ scoring with 18 points off the bench.

The Kings came out of the gate strong. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead within the first three minutes of the first quarter and led the Knicks by as many as 15 points.

Jason Thompson, who started for Omri Casspi, got into early foul trouble and was substituted for rookie DeMarcus Cousins with a little over six minutes to play in the quarter. Cousins made an immediate impact, going 4-6 from the field and scoring 10 first-quarter points.

At the end of the first quarter, Sacramento led 27-14 and held New York to just 21 percent shooting from the field. With the Knicks not being able to find the basket to put the ball in, it looked as though the Kings were on their way to breaking their five-game losing streak.

That is, until the second quarter began. The Knicks started the quarter by going on a 21-8 run to knot the game at 35 about halfway through the quarter. Then the Knicks’ Toney Douglas hit a go-ahead three to give New York its first lead of the game.

Landry tied the game again at 42 with a dunk, but Gallinari hit a jumper that put the Knicks back up 44-42, and New York never looked back for the Kings afterward. New York outscored Sacramento 40-22 in the second quarter and led at halftime 54-49.

“As bad as that was, we were only down five,” Thompson said in reference to the second quarter.

The Kings were able to come within four points late in the fourth quarter on a Beno Udrih layup with about two minutes left.

New York guard Raymond Felton responded with two points of his own before Evans came back down the court with a missed shot and a turnover in the Kings’ next two offensive possessions. That put a stop to a Kings’ potential comeback.

“That was a game that for us wildly fluctuated, mixing in some excellent basketball and some sub-sixth-grade basketball that was indescribably bad,” said Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal.

Cousins, who had a hot-shooting first quarter, shot just one of nine for the rest of the game but still finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“To be honest, I still really haven’t found my rhythm,” Cousins said. “That’s just an adjustment I’ve got to make, but it’s not about me. It’s about the whole team, and we’ve just got to keep working.”

The second quarter was not the only thing that hurt the Kings Wednesday night. They also gave the Knicks numerous easy baskets that ranged from baskets in the paint to points at the free-throw line.

“Sometimes our defense was great. Sometimes it consisted of giving them dunks and free throws,” Westphal said.

The Knicks scored more than 25 percent of their total points from the free-throw line, making 33 of 39 free throws for the game. Gallinari hit almost half of those free throws for New York, going 16 of 17.

“We’re looking for consistency, and we didn’t have it tonight,” Westphal said.

Notes:

After playing just 34 minutes in four games this season, Kings forward Donté Greene found his way back into the rotation playing 20 minutes and scoring 8 points.

Luther Head and Jason Thompson started Wednesday night’s game in place of Beno Udrih and Omri Casspi. 

Photos by Ron Nabity.