Sacramento Shines With Evans

On his night, Tyreke Evans put on a show, notching his first career triple-double and the first for the franchise by a rookie in the Sacramento era.

What made the Rally for RekeROY Night especially encouraging for Kings fans, however, was seeing the first-year leader guide the Kings to a well-rounded, decisive 113-90 team victory. Read more

Postgame Recap: Kings @ Blazers

PORTLAND 88, SACRAMENTO 81

March 9, 2010 - At the Rose Garden, Brandon Roy led all scorers with 19 points as the Blazers held off the Kings, 88-81. Sacramento trailed by 11, 73-62, entering the fourth quarter but Francisco Garcia’s three-pointer jump-started a 12-1 run. Jason Thompson’s lay-up capped off the run and tied score, 74-74, with 8:11 remaining. Marcus Camby scored four of Portland’s next five points for a 79-74 advantage with 5:03 left. The Kings cut into the Blazers’ lead and trailed, 81-78, with 3:35 left, but the Trail Blazers scored seven straight points to seal the win. Portland limited the Kings to just one made field goal in the final four and a half minutes. Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 18 points and Carl Landry added 17 points. Spencer Hawes grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Beno Udrih contributed 13 points. For Portland, Andre Miller and Nicolas Batum each scored 14 points. Camby, Roy, and Juwan Howard each grabbed a team-high-tying eight rebounds. The Blazers outscored the Kings, 27-13, in the second quarter and had their biggest lead of 12 in that quarter.

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY 108, SACRAMENTO 102

March 7, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, Kevin Durant scored 27 points and Russell Westbrook tallied 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Thunder to a 108-102 win over the Kings. The Thunder led, 96-88, with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter before the Kings went on an 8-2 run to trim the Thunder’s lead down to two, 98-96, with 3:53 remaining. After a Durant jumper and a Nick Collison fastbreak lay-up, the Thunder extended the lead to six with 2:59 left. Francisco Garcia buried a three-pointer with 39.5 seconds left to pull the Kings within four, 106-102, but the Thunder answered with a Nenad Krstic dunk to all but end the hopes of a Kings comeback. Oklahoma City outrebounded the Kings, 45-33, and recycled 16 offensive rebounds for 23 second-chance points. Tyreke Evans scored a team-high 24 points, reaching the 20-point plateau for the sixth time in the last seven games. Carl Landry added 20 points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds. Jason Thompson made his return to the Kings’ lineup after missing the previous five games due to two non-displaced transverse processes fractures in his lower back and finished with 11 points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Krstic grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. The Kings outshot the Thunder from the field, .506 to .477, but missed nine free throw attempts.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Thunder

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“I hate to sound like a broken record but we did so many good things out there against a really good team. They’re one of the best defensive teams in the league. We shot 50.6 percent (from the field), had only 13 turnovers, addressed those problems and really defended them pretty well but we couldn’t keep them off the glass. They missed three free throws; we missed nine free throws. They beat us on the boards (45-33) and it negates so many of the good things that we did. I keep feeling this inching closer and closer to breaking through against these good teams and we’re dong so many good things but we’re not doing enough to get the win. So we’re going to take the positives and try to improve the negatives and keep heading upward. They’re where we want to be and we want to get there sooner rather than later. As long as we keep striving to improve, I think we have a really good nucleus here and we keep bouncing back.”

“That’s the goal – I mean, the goal is to keep getting better and to be a team that’s solidly in the playoffs, and then win playoff games and then win playoff series – that’s where we want to go. Everything we do is geared toward that. It’s a high mountain to climb; we’ve come quite a ways and we’re not stopping.”

“I think that we executed against one of the best defensive teams in the league. We only turned it over 13 times, we got to the line a reasonable amount of times, we shot 50 percent against them, we played well enough offensively to win this game. Defensively, we played well enough except for we didn’t control the defensive glass and that’s how they beat us at their place and that’s how they beat us again tonight. So it certainly is an area that we need to improve if we want to be at their level.”

“Francisco (Garcia) is really showing how important he can be for our team. He’s an extra ball handler, he stretches the floor with three-point shooting and he’s a clutch shooter. Defensively he can guard three positions in a pretty credible manner so it was really nice to have his contributions out there.”

“It’s nice to have Jason (Thompson) back – a lower back injury kept him out what, 10 days? That’s pretty amazing. He brings a lot of energy and got some rebounds for us. He’s certainly an integral part of what’s going on for us.”

“It gets like that some nights when teams are competing. The game means a lot for Oklahoma City in terms of their playoff seeding and even making sure they make the playoffs and it means a lot to us in terms of our progression. So you’re going to have that when teams are fighting hard.”

When asked how he will work on fatigue with the team:
“Give them some rest – I think that’s the first thing. I think that it’s been pretty evident not only in the games but in our practices that Omri (Casspi) is really winding down his battery, so we’re trying to help him recharge it a little bit, just give him some rest. We’re very, very high on Omri and I think that he’s a big part of our future. I do think that it’s going to be important for him in this offseason to pick up probably 10 pounds and maybe a little bit more and really work on his stamina. He’s never been through anything like this before and I think you can see it, that he doesn’t quite have the motor that he had earlier.”

Carl Landry

“There are no excuses. I am not making any excuses. We have got to go and get the ball. I gave up a couple of rebounds tonight as well as a couple of my teammates. We have got to do a better job of rebounding the ball. It is that simple.”

On the trash talking tonight
“There was a lot of trash talking going on, but it is just part of the game. Wherever you go, whether the Y or the playground it is just a part of basketball. I think that the referees didn’t want it to get out of hand and that is why they made some of the calls, but it is just a part of the game. I don’t think it really affected us or the other team.”

On rebounding
“We didn’t win. We just have to do a better job of rebounding the ball. They outrebounded us and I think if we had gotten a couple more boards then the outcome of the game could have been different. We just have to do a better job on that end.”

There were a lot of technicals were called today. So a lot of money is going to go back to the NBA. It was a tough game today, it was close. We have been playing a lot of close games since I have gotten here. We just have to keep grinding it out. We need to correct a couple correctable errors and mistakes we have been doing.”

Jason Thompson

“It is always frustrating when you lose in close games, especially when you know you have a chance to win. A few things didn’t go our way. We weren’t getting rebounds and we missed a few free throws. You know it’s kind of tough because this is a team we beat earlier in the season and had a close one there last week. They are a playoff team. We know that we can play with good teams, especially in our conference, but we fell a little short tonight.”

On recovering from injury
“I felt good out there. The doctor said up to two weeks. You never know though, I have never been injured so for me the recovery may have been fast. I feel good and it was good to get out there and get my feet wet and play with my teammates. For the most part it just felt pretty good. I felt confident and coach kept me out there.”

Tyreke Evans

On what went wrong
“We played them good. They really killed us in the rebounding. They got us on the glass and were able to get the second opportunities. That is what hurt us.”

On having a lot of minutes in second half
“I got a little bit tired. Francisco (Garcia) walked me to the foul line and I was a little bit tired and I got fouled. That is just something I am going to have to get better at next year and condition better.”

Oklahoma City Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks

On how they won the game
“The bench came in and did a very good job. You just never know when a guy is going to go out, like Russell (Westbrook) had to have stitches. Eric (Maynor) came in and gave us very solid minutes. And Serge (Ibaka), Nick (Collison) and James (Harden) gave us solid minutes throughout the game. I thought the bench did a really good job of coming in and helping us win the game tonight. Sacramento is not an easy team to guard. They have so many offensive weapons and they put a lot of pressure on your defense.”

On Russell Westbrook returning after receiving stitches
“He’s tough. He is a tough competitor and competes every night. That wouldn’t surprise me. I knew he was coming back in. I was just surprised that it took so long. He showed toughness. Our team showed toughness to come in and win here. They have got some talented players and they are going to get better and they are young. That is a tough team to play against.”

On the solid rebounding
“I thought we were real good and active on the boards. We didn’t give up a lot of offensive rebounds which they can do. Jason (Thompson) came back tonight, and Carl (Landry) is an offensive rebounder. We did a good job of rebounding the ball.”

On his feelings going 2-1 on their road trip
“We weren’t happy the way things turned out in Denver. They are one of the best teams in basketball and we wanted to make it a very competitive game, which it wasn’t, but we played excellent two-way basketball. Tonight, we came back and really took care of business on their home court and the last game on our road trip.”

Oklahoma City Guard Russell Westbrook

On playing after his injury
“I’m good. Just got six stitches. Nothing big. I am fine. I was able to see normally, but not too much on the right side.”

On the emotion that ran high during the game
“That is good emotion. That is NBA basketball. We got a few technicals but we were able to fight through it.”

On Coach Scott Brooks
“He stays consistent with what he is preaching. He preaches defense and he is pretty consistent to that. He has done a great job of that all year this year and last.”

Oklahoma City Forward Kevin Durant

On dominating the boards
“We did a great job on the offensive glass, especially with Jason Thompson back. Carl Landry and Spencer Hawes are good as well. We got a long ways to go on that, but we are getting better and better every game.”

On if anyone has been able to stay in front of Russell Westbrook
“No. He is so quick and athletic and so strong. It’s tough. He can dribble a basketball pretty well and has a lot of dribble moves. He takes what the defense gives him. Sometimes he should take the pull-up, which is one of the best parts of his game, but he wants to take it to the basket. You can’t blame him for that.”

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Rockets

KINGS COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

(on the win)
“It was very gratifying. We shot 100 field goal attempts, and to get a road win with our offense struggling to get baskets was big. Basketball is a funny game. It’s all part of our learning process. We knew when we left Brooks wide open we’d win. (ha-ha). Carl’s (Landry) free throws at the end were fantastic. Aaron brooks misses a wide open 3-pointer and not by our design but we will take it.”

(on Landry’s play)
“You can see why everyone in Houston loves him because the way he plays the game. He wants the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He came through big.”

(on Battier’s defense of Tyreke Evans)
“Battier was fantastic and did a super job defensively against Evans. He had his way with Tyreke and now will be see how he will adjust next time we play.”

CARL LANDRY

(on getting to play against Chuck Hayes)
“Chuck had a long night, didn’t he? He tried to get me with his spin move but it didn’t work. I was just telling him things on the court. We talked a little trash but that was all.”

(on his return to Houston)
“I just wanted to win. I got fouled and made it to the line and when I hit my free throws, it felt great. It was a sigh of relief. I had fun here and Houston is a wonderful place with great fans. It was real fun playing against all my brothers on the other side. Coach (Westphal) talked to me before the game and said I didn’t have to be too aggressive, just play my game.”

(on the key to the game)
“We played defense and that was the key to the game.”

(on Battier defending Evans)
“Shane is a great defender and he knew all of Tyreke’s moves before he even made them.”

SPENCER HAWES

(on winning and shooting 32%)
“It’s as big a surprise as it gets. When you are not shooting well you have to buckle down and bring something else to the table. We brought it defensively and that was the key to the victory.”

FRANCISCO GARCIA

(on the key to the game)
“Defense did it for us. It’s tough to win on the road without good defense. Our defense is picking up and we have to keep rolling. The last four games we have played well.”

(on playing against Kevin Martin)
“It was weird playing defense on Kevin but it was also kinda fun. I knew coming in I was going to be playing against my friend. But we are both professionals.”

ROCKETS COACH RICK ADELMAN

(On the game)
“Just not happy with the way we played. They beat us to every loose ball. They killed us on the boards, between our turnovers and their (Kings) offensive boards, that’s 41 and a half of their points. Those are effort plays. I don’t know if we thought we were going to come out here and blow a team out just because we won a game the other night. If you hold the team to 32 percent at home and they get twenty three more shots than you do and every phase didn’t work. You have to have the ball, we just didn’t do it. They crushed us on the boards.”

(On the loss)
“There wasn’t anything, that’s what we talked about at every timeout and half time. There wasn’t hard cuts. We’re trying to attack one on one and we settled for jumpers early in the game, just jumper after jumper. We didn’t make them move at all. It’s just very disappointing. I don’t know if we…we have a young group and I think that because they won a game they think they will win the next one. It doesn’t work that way in this league. I don’t care who you are playing, you’ve got to go out and make it happen and I give Sacramento credit. We didn’t do enough during the course of the game and then it became a three point game. There are just so many little things you can point to but there’s no reason they should have beat us that badly on the boards, there’s just no reason.”

KEVIN MARTIN

(On the loss)
“We wanted that one. It just didn’t happen for us tonight. I thought we played good defense but we just didn’t get in to any type of rhythm tonight. They (Sacramento) were doing a great job on the offensive boards. There was just no flow or anything tonight. You hold a team to 32 percent you would bet any amount of money that you would win but not tonight.”

(On the Kings’ defense)
“It’s something that you just have to look at the tape but you can’t really pinpoint one thing tonight. They (Sacramento) played a great game tonight so you’ve got to give them credit.”

AARON BROOKS

(On the last shots)
“Yeah (getting the shot that he wanted). It was a good play. It was just all my shots today were a little short or to the right or to the left, just a little off. Everybody was pretty much off but I think we got killed on offensive rebounds and that’s where the game was won. They (Sacramento) had a lot of second chance points and second chance points off of our turnovers and that’s where the game was at.”

(On the missed free throws)
“You go in with the mindset to make the shot and when you don’t make it you are surprised and that’s what happened. So, I don’t know, I guess I have to practice a little bit more.”

SHANE BATTIER

(On the Kings second chance points)
“It’s deflating basketball to play. We did our job defensively and I haven’t seen too many games in this league where a road team can shoot 30 percent and still win the game but they had twenty three more shots than we did and that’s a tough number to overcome.”

(On what went wrong)
“I thought the sense of urgency on the offensive end. We were getting stops early. There was a period where we were playing a team, especially a team that played the night before, where you’ve got to show them you mean business and to show them that if they want to win this game, they’re going to have to spend a lot of energy. We didn’t show them that and we gave them hope that maybe they can steal one on the road tonight and once you give a team hope it’s almost impossible to take it back. You’re in a dog fight and we were never able to break their spirit and that comes from playing with energy and with a sense of purpose and urgency.”

LUIS SCOLA

(On the loss)
“We made a few of the same mistakes we have been doing the whole year. We started a little bit badly in the game. They (Sacramento) got ahead and we tried to fight back. We made a lot of mistakes, we made a lot of mistakes and they made us pay.”

(On the free throws)
“We wouldn’t be anywhere without Aaron Brooks. He was our leading scoring for the game. We lost the game on the last possession and if we would have won the game it would have been on the last possession. So, it was just one of the many mistakes we made in the whole game.”

Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Thunder

OKLAHOMA CITY 113, SACRAMENTO 107

March 2, 2010 - At the Ford Center, the Kings had no answer for Kevin Durant who had game-highs of 39 points and 10 rebounds and Russell Westbrook who added 30 points and 13 assists as the Thunder outlasted the Kings, 113-107. Francisco Garcia’s three-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter capped off a Kings’ 10-3 spurt to pull them within two, 100-98. Durant then made a driving lay-up as the Thunder answered each Kings score as Sacramento could not get closer than three points the rest of the way. Carl Landry’s dunk with 34.1 seconds left cut the Thunder lead to 111-107. Durant was fouled and sealed the win with two free throws, finishing a perfect 12-of-12 from the line. Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 27 points and Landry contributed 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia each tallied 13 points. The Kings outshot the Thunder from the field, .539 to .500, but were outrebounded, 32-43. The Thunder crashed the offensive glass, converting 17 offensive boards into 23 second-chance points.

New-Look Kings Ready for ARCO Debut

The recently-acquired Kings players had little time to adjust to their new environment and even less time to familiarize themselves with their new team on Friday before the Kings took off for a two-game road trip.

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Postgame Recap: Kings vs. Celtics

BOSTON 95, SACRAMENTO 92

February 16, 2010 - At ARCO Arena, missed opportunities allowed the Celtics to hold off the Kings, 95-92, sending Sacramento to its fourth straight home defeat. Paul Pierce, who shared team scoring honors with Rasheed Wallace with 17 points a piece, drilled a three-pointer to put Boston ahead, 89-87, with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Kings missed four free throw attempts and Wallace made two for a 91-87 Celtics lead with 15.4 seconds left. Tyreke Evans, who finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, hit a three-pointer to bring the Kings to within one, 91-90, with 6.2 seconds remaining. Ray Allen and Omri Casspi each made their two free throw tries for their respective teams as the score remained a one-point difference with Boston ahead, 93-92. Although Casspi tried to purposely miss his second attempt, the ball banked in. Pierce was fouled and calmly sank two free throws for a 95-92 Boston advantage. Casspi was sent to the line with 0.7 remaining, but missed both attempts. Jason Thompson recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards off the bench. Casspi finished with a game-high 19 points. Kevin Garnett led the Celtics on the boards with nine. Francisco Garcia made his season debut after missing the first 52 games of the season after a right forearm and wrist injury suffered in the preseason.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Celtics

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“We did so many things really well in that game against a great team. I know the Celtics were struggling prior to the All-Star break but they had everybody back with a big incentive to start off this road trip in the right way. I thought they played with great intensity and I thought we did too. It was very much a playoff atmosphere out there. For us to outrebound them and hold them to 37.5 percent – it was just such a good effort by our guys and it hurts. It hurts to not beat the Celtics but I am proud of them. I am proud of the progress. It was very much a playoff-caliber atmosphere and game. We need to back it up and go play like that tomorrow at Golden State. That’s what great teams do – you have a disappointing loss and then play the next night and you don’t take it with you. So that’s our intention.”

“I don’t know how to measure frustration. It’s obvious that we lost the game at the free throw line. That’s the big difference. We missed nine free throws in the second half, just about all of them in the fourth quarter it seemed like. When we tried to make them, we missed them; when we tried to miss them, we made them. That was strange too. I told our players, I said ‘you guys are good shooters, you’re clutch players; you missed them. You just put them in the clutch-make bank for later on.’ Everybody has missed a free throw that matters and we missed plenty of them tonight. But I want those same guys at the line shooting free throws and I like our chances in the future.”

On the decision to not put Kevin Martin back in the game during the fourth quarter:
“I sent him in to the scorers’ table and he said ‘those guys are playing pretty well and I said ‘yeah, but I want you in.’ So then there was a long period of time and he said ‘well there’s a timeout coming,’ so he came back. Then the timeout didn’t happen for a couple of minutes and the team out there (on the floor) was really clicking. Our eyes kind of met and we both said ‘let’s let him go,’ so it was both of us deciding that we wanted to finish the game with the guys that had done such a good job in the fourth quarter.”

“We only shot 38.1 percent tonight; there were a lot of guys missing shots.”

“I thought Spencer (Hawes) really asserted himself defensively and on the boards. (He) made some nice passes – we didn’t get payoff for some of those passes but when we were executing he was a big part of it. I thought Spencer hit some big shots and made some plays that usually will lead toward wins.”

“I thought we responded very well. It was a tough, tough game. Both teams were blocking shots and covering the paint and making it tough to score inside. I was very proud of our team. I thought that in a lot of ways you could probably say it was our best defensive effort of the year.”

On the return of Francisco Garcia:
“That was great – the ovation he got was so well deserved. It’s a lot of pain and suffering on his part. He had big anticipation for the season and then this freak accident happens. You’ve got to sleep with that cast – try doing that sometime, it’s hard to sleep. (He endured) weeks of that and (then) to learn how to bend your hand again – I mean it’s just lonely. You feel forgotten; it’s really tough. He’s kept his spirit all the time and I think the people know that about ‘Cisco. You guys have done a good job reporting how engaged he’s been with the success of this team. To have him back on the floor, that was a great moment. We’ll see a lot more of him as the season progresses.”

Jason Thompson

“It is unfortunate that I was into my rhythm and into my groove, trying to get rebounds and trying to get blocked shots and for it to finish like that, it is unfortunate. I was making my free throws, but I just couldn’t finish it at the end. It is still a learning experience and it is something I won’t let happen again.”

On the free throws
“We make 50-plus free throws after every practice and we keep track of the percentages. Everyone is a great shooter and we make free throws at a high level, we just have to concentrate and make more free throws and do the same thing in the game.”

He (Coach Westphal) said he is just proud to be a part of this team. He is trying to lead us and when you are a young team you have to go through some growing pains. We have had a lot of games like this, where at the end of the game against really good teams, we just couldn’t finish. It is something that we need to learn from. The more that we mature and learn from these games, then the better we can be.”

On what was expected of them tonight
“We know that they are a physical team and they may have gotten the best of us, but Coach Westphal challenged us ‘bigs’ to protect our paint and we took the challenge especially in the second half.”

Tyreke Evans

“We played hard and we gave them a good run the entire game. They are a championship team and the way we came out and played them, I feel like we played them pretty good.”

On what it does for the team playing hard
“I think that it does a lot for this team. We came out and they were winning and then we came back. It was just tough for us. I knew that we were capable of playing like that and then we got the lead on them. They are a good team and they got some runs, so we just have to be careful of that.”

On what they hope to accomplish coming after the break
“We just want to finish off strong and make sure that everyone stays healthy. We want everyone to come back next year and be prepared for the season. We are going to try to finish out strong and get as many wins as possible.”

Omri Casspi

On the missed free throws tonight
“We missed free throws and they made theirs. It was little stuff like that. It’s tough. I have made my free throws in around 95 percent of our games. The one I tried to miss tonight, I made it. We competed against one of the best teams and to lose the game on free throws (is tough). ‘It’s a game of free throws’ they say.”

Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers

Bench play…
“The bench was terrific. I thought that they saved the game for us. The first half, I think it was a two-point game when they came in and left with a 10-point lead. One thing I will say is we had great shots tonight.”

Tonight’s game…
“We counted about 12 lay-ups that we had at the basket that we didn’t convert. I told the guys after the game that offensively I loved what we have but I would like to make some of those. That would be nice. Defensively I thought we played very well. Bonehead plays down the stretch but overall I’m happy with the win. First win on this trip is good for us.”

Setting the tone for the road trip…
“I don’t know what tone it’s going to set but we got a win and now we have to move to the next game. That is how we are approaching the next 31 games. We’re not looking ahead. We’re not sending messages. We’re just trying to win this game, get better tonight and focus on the next game. That’s all we’re doing. The whole trip we’re not looking at. We’re looking at the next game then we’ll move on to the next game.”

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics’ Guard

Tonight’s game…
“They made a couple of good plays on offense. For the most part our defense, I thought everybody was in sync with each other. They went on a run and we fought them off in the fourth quarter.”

Bench play…
“Rasheed (Wallace) was big for us. Tony (Allen) had great minutes. Marquis (Daniels) came in big. Glen (Davis) came in and was big on the glass.”

Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics’ Forward

Bench play…
“The bench came in with unbelievable energy. They came in and took the momentum and once they got that the starters were able to get into a nice groove. I think for the most part it was a team effort tonight. Without the bench I don’t think we would be able to stand out there like we did.”

Rasheed Wallace, Boston Celtics’ Forward

Team chemistry…
“The camaraderie on this team is very high. We look out for each other. Yet on the same note we are very critical of each other.”

Defensive Minded Kings Return to Utah

Sacramento’s victory over Golden State on Tuesday gave the Kings 179-178 lead in the all-time series and boosted the team’s record against the Western Conference to 13-9 at ARCO Arena.

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