Cousins helps Kings rout LeBron-less Cavaliers 103-84

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - LeBron James declined to speak to reporters after Clevelands latest loss without him. His Cavaliers teammates had another quiet night, too.

DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points and 13 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings beat Cleveland 103-84 on Sunday, handing the Cavaliers their seventh loss in eight games with James out with a strained back and sore left knee.

Cleveland has lost five straight and is 1-8 in its last nine games to drop to 19-19. The Cavaliers fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter and the Kings maintained a double-digit lead.

They came out and punched us in the mouth. The first time we got into a double-digit deficit we just hung out heads, said Kevin Love, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to James absence, the Cavaliers are playing for a new coach, adjusting to offseason moves and the additions last week of JR Smith and Timofey Mozgov.

Were going through a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of changes, Cleveland coach David Blatt said. Were making adjustments on the fly. Tonight was definitely not a step forward. It wasnt a good performance, you cant sugar coat it.

Kyrie Irving had 21 points and had seven assists for Cleveland. Mozgov, acquired from Denver last week, had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

LeBron being out, thats 27 points we have to make up every game, said Irving, who was ineffective after hitting four 3s and scoring 14 first-quarter points.

Smith struggled after scoring 27 points in his second game since joining Cleveland in a trade with New York. He had four points on 2-of-10 shooting in 30 minutes.

Rudy Gay added 23 points for Sacramento. Darren Collison had 16, and Carl Landry 11.

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Cousins helps Kings rout LeBron-less Cavaliers 103-84