The Kings face the 76ers tonight at 7 p.m. at ARCO Arena.

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Petrie Contract Extention Press Conference Quotes

Kings Co-Owner Gavin Maloof

“We are all proud to say that Geoff Petrie has remained a King. We have given him a multi-year contract extension. We are so excited about where this club is heading for the future. Eighty to ninety percent of our team right now is draft picks, and that falls onto Geoff Petrie. We are honored to have him as a part of our family. He has been with the Kings organization for 16 years, after this year. He is one of the longest tenured, if not the longest tenured of any General Manager in sports. We are really proud and excited about the way the team is playing and the direction the team is heading. We all feel that we have a great young squad. A squad that beat an elite team in Denver last night. They have taken two other elite teams to overtime. The team has definitely improved 100 percent from last year. We are very impressed with their accomplishments and where the team is going. I would also like to recognize our coach, Paul Westphal. He is here today for support. He has done a terrific job along with his staff. People have something to look forward to as far as the Kings organization. There is hope for the future. I certainly believe that there will be multiple championships with this team the way that they grow. I don’t know if it is going to be next year or the year after, but in the future. When you have the second youngest starting five to ever suit up at an NBA game, that says something. The way that we are competing on the floor and proving every day, it is amazing what is going on. It’s great to be a King and to have you (Geoff) as our King.”

Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie

“I just want to start by saying how deeply appreciative I am of the opportunity to continue to grow this team. Obviously, when you have had this much tenure here as I have at this point, you feel a part of the organization for one and number two, you are getting a chance to continue to live out a childhood dream. I am now doing it in what has become my hometown. I can only echo Gavin’s comments about how much excitement we all have for the significance of room there is to grow and for the team we are seeing compete now during the first part of this season. I want to personally thank Paul (Westphal) for the professionalism and the leadership that he has brought to the team and the group of players that we have now. I have had an incredible staff for the longest time. There are so many factors that are involved for me, and we want to continue to get it back to where we can compete again at a championship level. We are moving in the right direction. I think that everyone can see that. I want to thank all of you, who have also been together here for a long time and the interaction that we have had over the years. We are going to move forward here and do the best that we can. Hopefully we will have a lot more fun, not just this season, but the ones to come. There is one other person that I want to acknowledge, if you haven’t seen her, you have probably heard her. That is the lovely Anne Marie, my wife, who gets to come home some nights and watch me count troubles and not sheep when I am trying to go to bed.”

Questions from the media

On the previous decisions that shaped where they are today
Petrie - “If you go back six months that would be the Draft. A little bit prior to that would have been the hiring of Paul (Westphal). We felt when we hired Paul that we all felt the same thing. He is someone with great knowledge, tremendous experience and some inner strength, which led right into the Draft. What we wanted to accomplish there was to get some more talent. Also, we wanted to get physically and mentally tougher for the way that our players approach the game. We needed to try to get bigger and longer at certain positions. I think this is one of those drafts that was close to being proven to be true. It’s a lot more than just that. It is the attitude of the group. You can see that in Donte (Greene) and see improvement in Jason (Thompson), he has come back and had a fabulous year. When everyone, including Beno (Udrih), said that he didn’t have a very productive year for him a year ago. I don’t think there is a lot to be gained from talking about the past… We are past that, and we are moving ahead.”

On the people Petrie works with
Geoff - “I think as you get older one of the most precious commodities you have is your time. Like I said earlier, I am still living that boyhood dream. I happen to be in a group of people who think the opportunity to work at this level in the NBA is a real honor and a real privilege. The group of people that I have had around me for so long is so confident, loyal and trustworthy. That counts as a lot with me. This is a home for me, too. I would not want to leave on a down note.”

On being a family and having a good environment
Gavin - “We are more friends than we are co-workers, or he works for us, we are his bosses. We have always considered him part of the family. It may be a little different, but we have forged a wonderful bond with Geoff and his family, of course Anne Marie and Mike, his son. We just have a fine affection for his family. It is great to keep this consistency and continuity. We talked about it early on when we bought the Kings. Now that we have a coach that is on the same page as Geoff and Geoff is on the same page as us and we are on the same page as the coach. It is a wonderful situation and it is a special environment that we are proud of. We can now take this forward and keep everything positive.”

On Mike Petrie’s promotion to Kings Assistant Vice President of Basketball Operations
Geoff - “Beyond the fact that we have the same name, he has grown up in the game. He has been here the better part of 11 years. He has all of the qualities that are important in my sense of what is valuable from the people in your organization. He has experience and he has a history of performance. He is loyal, trustworthy and at his age is a much better person than I was. He has always been a part of the inner circle, and he has grown. He was the video coordinator for some of the best teams that we had, when Rick Adeleman was here. He spent four years in scouting and organizing the Draft. He is just very confident.”

Petrie’s Boyhood Dream Continues in Sacramento

Sixteen years into his tenure with the Sacramento Kings, Geoff Petrie continues to relish the opportunity to live his youthful goal.

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Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Nuggets

SACRAMENTO 106, DENVER 101

December 28, 2009 – At ARCO Arena, Andres Nocioni led the Kings with 21 points off the bench and the Kings withstood a 34-point performance from Carmelo Anthony to defeat Denver, 106-101. Both teams played without their starting point guards - Tyreke Evans was sidelined with a sprained right ankle and Chauncey Billups had missed five of the previous six games for Denver with a left adductor strain (groin). The Kings used a 9-1 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 103-97 lead with 13.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Kings’ run began with Omri Casspi’s three-pointer at the 2:01 mark. Beno Udrih’s three-point play put the Kings up, 100-96, with 1:41 left. Anthony made one of two free throws, but the Kings would make six of their eight free throw attempts to seal the win. Donte Greene and Udrih each tallied 17 points. Jason Thompson recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Jon Brockman came off the bench to corral a career-high-tying 10 boards. Nene scored a season-high 25 points for the Nuggets, who have dropped their last six road contests. Kenyon Martin recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

NOTES: The Kings outrebounded the Nuggets, 48-46. The Nuggets recycled 17 Kings turnovers into 25 points while turning the ball over nine times. The Kings are 9-1 when Jason Thompson records a double-double. Sacramento earned its 11 home win of the season - last season’s Kings won a total of 11 games at home. The Kings have scored 100 or more points in each of the last 10 home games.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Nuggets

Head Coach Paul Westphal

“It was really nice having a big crowd totally behind us. I think that the city is appreciating what these young guys are doing. To be able to knock off the Nuggets, one of the best teams in basketball, with a real solid defensive effort and without Tyreke (Evans) – obviously, they were without Chauncey Billups as well – but it was very satisfying for us to be able to back up our near misses with Cleveland and the Lakers and then get this game tonight. I really liked the toughness and togetherness we showed out there. I thought we got some great performances off the bench with (Andres) Nocioni, Sergio (Rodriguez), Ime (Udoka) and (Jon) Brockman. Every one of them came in and gave us a lot; they did what they do. Donte (Greene) – think about it – he guarded LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. They all scored big and we told him tonight, ‘if (Carmelo) doesn’t get 40, we’ve got a chance’. I thought Donte really took the challenge and made it tough for Carmelo; he didn’t give him a whole bunch of free throws and made him earn his points, which is all you can do with superstars. So we’re glad that we knocked off one of the big boys at home and it’s another step in our development.”

On Donte Greene:
“Donte’s not afraid. Maybe he doesn’t have enough experience to be afraid but I think he actually concentrates better when things get tougher. Sometimes if things are going too well for him he starts drifting and going in between his legs and things like that, but I think Donte’s a clutch player, both offensively and defensively.”

On Andres Nocioni:
“Nocioni obviously has been struggling shooting the ball lately and also defensively. He’s a real pro who doesn’t ever back up. I told him after the game, ‘Noc, you know how to get out of a shooting slump don’t you?’ and he said, ‘yeah, keep shooting’. It’s a shame to be hot and not know it; you’ve got to find out. If you’re a shooter, that’s what you do. He didn’t hesitate and I think sometimes he has been hesitating when he’s struggling with his shot, but tonight he didn’t. Defensively he gives up a lot of quickness to Anthony and size but he fought him. Really it was like bringing in a middle relief pitcher that got us to the point where we could close the game with somebody else. I thought he was very, very valuable at both ends.”

On Jon Brockman:
“He’s an amazing player. The thing he does is rebound and make his presence felt out there. I’d have to say, I thought he’d be good at that – but he’s even better than I thought he would be. Some of those rebounds he gets, for a player his size and in traffic – he goes up after the ball and before he goes up you’re thinking, ‘oh boy, those guys are tall, they’re probably going to get it” but then when Brockman gets it you say, ‘nobody else had a chance’. He’s that kind of rebounder – he’s amazing.”

Donte Greene

“It felt good out there. I was out there guarding my man (Carmelo Anthony). I call him big brother and I showed him little brother was working.”

On the big week of games they have played
“I love it. Give it to me next week. I just love it. It is challenging and it’s not like I am out there talking trash. I am out there defending, but I am also learning. I’m not bashful, I will ask questions. I was out there asking Kobe (Bryant) questions right on the court. He told me that I needed to relax; when he got the two three’s he said he was just letting you know not to over relax. It’s just the little things. I don’t say anything to Carmelo though because we have been playing since we were in like middle school. It’s just all about learning.”

On where his confidence is defensively
“It is getting there. I still need to work on some things and try to draw some fouls. It is getting there and I’m working on it everyday.”

Jon Brockman

On being a bit shorter than the guys he is guarding
“It is mostly keeping them busy and moving around a lot. I’m kind of like a pest. They were playing physical in there, so you can go in and they allow you to push around a bit and use leverage. I think because I am shorter, I can get a little lower on their legs. That is where all your strength comes from. You are not pushing with your upper body, because then you would be off balance.”

On the way he is playing
“I am playing the same way; it’s just that I have a different role. Obviously, in college, I had more of a scoring and leadership role. I feel like a freshman coming in now. I feel like I am a rookie. It is my first year coming in and what you do is play with the other players. You don’t demand anyone to change because of you. You have to mold yourself around everyone else and just help where ever you can.”

Andres Nocioni

On bouncing back tonight from the previous games
“I tried to do my job and I tried to bring energy from the bench. I tried to make my wide open shots.”

On if he expected to see more minutes tonight
“Maybe, I could have thought about it. No one told me anything, so I just come here every night and be ready from the start. If the coach needed me, I will be ready. If not, I will be ready on the bench.”

George Karl, Denver Nuggets’ Head Coach

Tonight’s team performance…
“It is very similar to a lot of our games on the road lately. In the fourth quarter, we’re not the ones making the shots. We’re hurting ourselves with fundamentals like making free throws (20-of-35). The effort was great. We put a lot of work into this game and we just didn’t win.”

Losing tonight’s game…
“Losing is frustrating. You don’t like to lose but Sacramento is playing at a good level. We’re not playing at a great level. We played better early. The best thing we have going for us right now is three days of practice which we need to tune up some defensive responsibilities, hopefully getting Chauncey (Billups) back healthy and we’ll be fine.”

Arron Afflalo, Denver Nuggets’ Guard

Team’s performance…
“At the end of the day we need to get a win. It is good that we can get in some practice time and regain our focus on whatever it may be. At the end of the day we just need to get the wins.”

End of the game…
“They hit some big shots. We actually took the lead by two. We were definitely competing. I think the corner three they made and the and-1 with two or three minutes left was when they took the lead. It really broke the momentum for us and gave it to them.”

What the team needs to do to win…
“I think it’s just the focus of what it takes to win and understanding what it takes for this team to win. That’s playing great defense and running off points as opposed to exchanging baskets with guys. On top of that we need everyone to be healthy. We need everyone on this team to play at the level that we like to play at. That includes when Chauncey gets back and everyone gets healthy.”

Open Net: Kings vs. Nuggets