Playing without Jared Sullinger (concussion), Avery Bradley (ankle) and Rajon Rondo (rest) the Celtics fell to the Kings on the road, 105-98. Both teams now have 19 wins on the year and are all of assured of getting a lottery pick in the draft.
The Kings jumped out to a 23-16 lead after the opening quarter and led the entire way although the C's did tie the game at 85 with 6:23 left, but the Kings went on a 12-4 run to regain control. Jeff Green led the C's with 29 points, 13 of them coming from the free throw line. Starting in the place of Sullinger, Kris Humphries had a solid game finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. Head coach Brad Stevens picked up his first-career NBA ejection in the final minute.
Sacramento had seven players reach double-figures in points led by Rudy Gay's 22.
The road trip will continue for the C's Monday night (9:00, CSNNE) in Utah against the Jazz.
What they'll be saying: The Celtics have now lost four straight and five of their last six and also have yet to defeat a Western Conference team on the road this season with Monday being their last game on their brief four-game West Coast swing. Once again the C's allowed their opponent to shoot over 50 percent as the Kings shot 52 percent from the field. One positive was Humphries' performance in a starting role as he also added four assists.
