Instant Replay: Kings fall short in loss to Clippers in opener

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BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Kings opened their 2015-16 schedule with a bang on Wednesday night. In front of a ruckus crowd, the Kings erased a big Los Angeles lead in the fourth quarter only to lose to the Clippers 111-104 down the stretch.

Blake Griffin was unstoppable for most of the night, finishing with a game-high 33 points. Chris Paul added 18 points and 11 assists and J.J. Redick chipped in 15 in the win.

DeMarcus Cousins struggled with his shot early and piled up the turnovers, but he was nothing short of incredible down the stretch. The All-Star big finished with a team-high 32 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes before fouling out in the final minute.

Rudy Gay dropped in 16 points, Darren Collison added a big 13 points and six assists in 30 minutes off the bench.

STANDOUT PERFORMER:
George Karl chose to use rookie Willie Cauley-Stein off the bench instead of starting because he didn’t want to his rookie “indoctrinated into the NBA by covering Blake Griffin.” Instead, Griffin dropped 32 points on 14-for-20 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds on Cousins and Kosta Koufos. Sacramento is versatile, but you can’t guard Griffin with a center.

TURNING POINT:
The Clippers walked into the fourth quarter with a 85-74 lead, but Sacramento rode the crowd and quickly erased the lead. Sacramento took a lead, but couldn’t hold on against a seasoned Clippers team.

INJURY UPDATE:
Both the Kings and the Clippers came into the game injury-free and they left the same way.

WHAT'S NEXT:
Sacramento returns to action Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers at Sleep Train Arena before traveling down to Los Angeles for a rematch against the Clippers on Saturday night.

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