SACRAMENTO, Calif — SACRAMENTO, Calif.-The Sacramento Kings heard boos at Power Balance Pavilion after lackluster showings in three consecutive home defeats.
The last two losses came against sub-.500 teams, including a Warriors team that was short-handed because of injury and a pregame trade.
If the Kings heard boos Friday night, it was because there were a lot of loud Boston Celtics fans in the sellout crowd.
"It was like we (were) Boston, too (Friday)," said Kings guard Marcus Thornton. "It felt like an away game. We wanted to show our fans we have heart and determination to win ballgames."
The Kings did that and ended their three-game losing streak, blowing out the Celtics 120-95 in front of an announced sellout crowd of 17,317.
It was the largest margin of victory of the season for the Kings, who ended an eight-game losing streak to the Celtics.
The Kings posted a season high in scoring and had a season-high 29 assists with three players sitting out the game with injuries. It was also the most points allowed by Boston this season.
The Kings were without Tyreke Evans (sprained left ankle) and Francisco Garcia (sprained right wrist).
Both were injured during Wednesday's loss against the Detroit Pistons.
Backup forward J.J. Hickson also did not dress for the game because of back spasms.
Coach Keith Smart was forced to shuffle his lineup.
John Salmons started for Evans at small forward.
The high intensity shown by the Kings was to be expected. They haven't had a problem playing with energy against the NBA's marquee teams, and the Celtics qualified as a team that would get the Kings' full attention.
Smart jokingly provided a solution for that problem.
"I'm going to call (NBA Commissioner) David Stern next year and say that we've decided we want to play all the top NBA teams and forfeit everyone else who is below our record," Smart said. ... (Focus) is completely different every single time when we have a top-line team coming in."
Celtics star Kevin Garnett said the Kings did not play like the team he had seen on film.
"Probably watched the last four or five games, and they weren't playing this together," Garnett said. "They weren't rebounding like this. You know they are not a defensive team, but they do put up points. Tonight, they played more collectively together, and it looked like a unit, and they played like a unit."
The third quarter was one of the best periods the Kings have played this season.
They scored 41 points, the most they had scored in a quarter this season, and shot 70 percent to take a 93-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
Thornton led the Kings (15-29) with a season-high 36 points. Thornton, the team's leading scorer, had 30 points total in the three recent losses.
"Shots started going down," Thornton said. "My teammates tell me all I need to see is one go down, it's a wrap, and that's what it was."
Jason Thompson had 21 points and 15 rebounds, his second consecutive game with those totals. DeMarcus Cousins added 20 points.
Ray Allen led Boston (23-20) with 26 points. Paul Pierce had 19 points, and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists.