The Sacramento Kings are building momentum as they embark on a difficult stretch of schedule to begin the second half of the season. Their win against the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday was the beginning of a 12 game stretch that has the Kings playing against 11 teams with winning records.

The win Saturday night over the New Orleans Hornets was their third in four games and has many wondering if the young team is maturing before their eyes into a force in the NBA.

“It was a very satisfying night for our team,” said head coach Paul Westphal. “To follow up last nights win against the Lakers with a win against a team that had won 10 in a row and had already beaten us twice in close games shows real progress that we’re making.”

The biggest difference with the Kings during the last two games has been the maturing of rookie center DeMarcus Cousins. At times this season Cousins has received ridicule from the media and his coaches for letting his emotions get the best of him on the court. Westphal seems to have found the solution to channeling Cousins emotion into a positive way for the Kings.

“DeMarcus (Cousins) has given us back-to-back dominant games and now that he has done it twice in a row we expect it every night,” said Westphal. “DeMarcus is getting a feel for the NBA and is controlling his passion extremely well. For the last several games his leap in poise and competitive maturity has been phenomenal. We always want to be on the look out for an explosion but he has been extremely well contained and his play has reflected that.”

Against the Lakers, Cousins scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and had 25 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists against the Hornets.

“I’m getting my game going early because I’m shooting my shot,” said Cousins. “Tyreke told me just shoot and if one doesn’t go down don’t hesitate on the next shot.”

Reigning rookie of the year Tyreke Evans has noticed the improvement in Cousins and is trying to get him as many touches as he can.

“I try to find him every chance I get,” said Evans. “He’s been playing aggressive and taking his time. When he does that he’s at his best and can’t be stopped.”

Another real positive to come out of the last two victories has been the Kings ability to hold onto a lead in the fourth quarter. This season the Kings have lost 16 games that they lead in the fourth.

Perhaps, another sign of a young team maturing.

“We have had the lead 16 or 17 times in the 4th quarter and we are in every game,” said forward Carl Landry. “The record doesn’t show how good we are but we are one of the better teams in this league. We could have turned those 16 games that we were ahead in the fourth quarter into wins. That could have easily been done because we were never out of any of those games. We probably only lost by one or two possessions.”

Next up for the Kings is hosting the Boston Celtics, hardly a consolation prize for two hard fought victories. However, the team embraces the challenge that Boston brings and is looking forward to having a chance at their first three-game winning streak of the season.

“It’s exciting to match up against KG, he’s someone that I watched growing up,” said Cousins. “Kendrick Perkins is someone that I played against after high school and another matchup I look forward to.”

The Boston game is the first of five straight home games that includes games against San Antonio, Utah, Dallas and Oklahoma City. Winning back-to-back games for the first time since the season opener has been an encouraging sign for the Kings who would like to make this a season of two halves.

These next five games should be a great tell of how the remainder of the season will look and whether or not the Kings can continue to build upon the momentum they have created for themselves.