Kings Season Ticket Holders Privy to Exciting Ride

Like many post-practice days, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey hung out after another intense practice.

They talked trash, shared laughs and played videogames.

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Casspi Learning, Fighting Through First Season

Kings rookie Omri Casspi plays with a spirit and passion for the game teammates and fans worldwide respect and celebrate. Lately, however, the first-year forward’s relentless dedication to his craft has caught up to him.

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Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Knicks

Head Coach Paul Westphal

On his team’s performance:
“That was a lot of fun for us. Omri Casspi night in The Garden and I think they left loving him and I think they liked all of our rookies. We’ve had some great performances from Tyreke (Evans). Jon (Brockman) came in and gave us five offensive boards. Certainly Donte (Greene) and Jason (Thompson), fantastic, really made some big plays for us. We did like we’ve been doing all year. If we get behind, we don’t quit, keep playing. Tonight we happened to close it out. It’s always great to get a win in The Garden, even if we shoot ourselves in the foot a few times.”

On winning on the road in overtime:
“Well it’s great anytime we win. We have been playing so hard all year. As you can see we’re talented and young and we have some holes, but the one thing we don’t have a hole in from what I can tell is our heart. We really play hard and we don’t quit.”

Tyreke Evans

On the fourth quarter:
“We just never gave up, kept fighting, trying to get the win and coach believed in us. I think the main thing that got us the win was me pushing the ball, getting an easy bucket and an easy transition point.”

On his chances of winning Rookie of the Year:
“I’ll take it if I get it but if not then there’s a lot of rookies out there that are doing good, but that’s not my main focus to win Rookie of the Year, but to play hard and get wins for this team.”

Omri Casspi

On tonight’s game:
“I’m very happy and like I said before, I was very excited before the game. This is not a regular game for me and it was important for me to start strong…show the coach and everybody that I am here to play and focus on basketball. In the second half, we did great stuff…moving to the 2-3 zone especially in the 4th quarter. We got big rebounds and everybody made big plays.”

On the crowd chanting his name:
“It was a great feeling to play an away game and having big support. In the end when I left the court, it was one of the most exciting moments in my career in basketball. This was a big day for me.”

More on the crowd and tonight’s experience:
“It’s not a regular game because there were a lot of Israelis and Jewish people in the crowd and my father came all the way from Israel to watch me play. I was excited and happy that it went well for us.”

On Danilo Gallinari:
“He is my age and we have played many times together in different European championships and he is doing a great job for the Knicks and developing into a very good NBA player. I’m happy to see him succeed and he has a big role on that team. He is a great shooter and we tried to make an adjustment on him and not let him shoot wide open shots because he is shoots such a high percentage.”

Head Coach Mike D’Antoni

On the fourth quarter:
“(We were up) 15 points with about 7 (points) minutes to go. We didn’t get up on Donte Greene, one shot, he hit that. Then they had a lay-up, which sometimes (Tyreke) Evans will get to the rim. And we didn’t get back in transition and Donte (Greene) hits another. So, it went from 15 to about 7, after about 30 seconds. And then we got tight, and didn’t play well, and they beat us.”

On the overtime:
“That’s how it goes. We’re struggling to find a way to get the ball in the right place. Obviously, (Danilo) Gallinari going out against their zone hurts us. And then we don’t have a shooter in there. But, it’s no excuse, we just, whatever reason, I don’t know, there’s a lot of spirit (that) went out of this dog and we’re just not fighting.”

Danilo Gallinari

On his arm:
“It was the same thing happened in the game against Orlando. It’s tough to find a reason why the muscle in the arm is weak, so probably with a couple of days it’s going to be back to normal.”

On his participation in the All-Star weekend:
“I don’t even think about that. I will think about getting treatment tomorrow morning with the staff. I am trying to get this arm back healthy as soon as possible.”

More on his arm:
“It was getting worse minute by minute. That free-throw I had no power in my fingers. It’s going to take a couple of days I think. It’s not as bad as it was in Orlando.”

Chris Duhon

On his last fourth quarter shot:
“Yeah they guarded it well and I just looked up, saw the shot clock going down and I was just trying to get it up on the rim…give us a chance off the rebound.”

On tonight’s game:
“It was tough. They went to a zone and we just didn’t handle the zone well late in the game.”

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Spurs

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“I thought the Spurs were really tough-minded for 48 minutes. We didn’t have one of those quarters (where we had a long scoring drought) but we had stretches for two or three minutes here and there. It’s a smart veteran team that knows how to close quarters, that knows how to get to the penalty first in the key quarters, and a lot of times for us that’s the difference between winning and losing a game. We don’t have the knack for that and I think we’ll get it, but the Spurs have it. They played 48 minutes of tough, smart basketball, they knocked down shots and they exploited us. They really are great at getting to the basket and we are very poor at protecting the basket. So as well as we played in so many areas, they ground us down in the areas that win and lose games. I take my hat off to them. As somebody who loves basketball, it’s a great team to watch. As somebody who’s coaching against them, we’re 0 and 3 against them because of the things that make them so special.”

On DeJuan Blair:
“That guy is unbelievable. He was a legendary rebounder in college and there’s no reason to think that he won’t probably lead the league in rebounding if he ever gets enough minutes. But it’s a pretty good one-two punch, him and (Tim) Duncan.”

On Tyreke Evans:
“Well you can’t really say enough about Tyreke. He’s 20 years old and he’s got respect throughout the league for the kind of competitor he is, plus the kind of talent and poise that he has. He’s an unbelievable player and as this team grows around him, he’s going to get a lot of national attention because he’s the kind of player that can make the team legitimate.”

On Beno Udrih:
“Well Beno has had that plantar fasciitis and really has looked a little slower than he ordinarily is. Sergio (Rodriguez) has been playing so well that it was just a decision to go with Sergio instead of Beno tonight. I told him that I’d probably use him (at some point) – that I was going to use Sergio as the backup point and that I’d probably use him behind Kevin (Martin). But I really didn’t want him to go out there and guard Ginobili when they subbed Ginobili at the two. When it was time for Kevin to take a rest I put Ime (Udoka) in. During the second half we used Donte (Greene) to guard Ginobili because of the way the matchups were. I didn’t see playing Beno two or three minutes in each half, so we went a different direction.”

On Spencer Hawes:
“I think Spencer really played well tonight. It’s a tall order to battle Tim Duncan – I don’t care if you call him a power forward, he’s probably the best center in the league. So he worked (hard tonight). Duncan got the best of him because Duncan is Duncan, but I thought Spencer played an excellent game. He’s taking steps in the right direction consistently.”

Spencer Hawes
“That is like our theme. We get too far down and then we go and try to make a comeback. We just fall too short. They were running the pick-and-roll and getting set up pretty nicely in the key. According to the stats sheet they did dominate.”

On Tim Duncan
“If he gets the ball in the right spots and you don’t play him the right way those are the results you have.”

On Tyreke Evans
“He came back tonight with authority. We needed a little bit extra out of him and out of everyone tonight. With Jason Thompson missing, he (Tyreke) really brought it.”

“We almost got back and I kept telling them we need Reggie Miller (against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden) or someone needs to play that role. I think we had a game like that last year and we forced it into overtime. You have to have as many learning experiences as you can.”

Tyreke Evans
“They did a good job on the pick-and-roll. They ran away, that is what closed the game.”

On what San Antonio did differently then Sacramento
“I thought that we were getting good looks, we just weren’t hitting anything. They did a good job of getting into the penalty. Their offense was getting good shots at the end of the shot clock and we weren’t doing a good job of that.”

On what went wrong tonight
“I don’t know. We went out there and played hard. At the end of the game we just can’t find a way to pull it out. It seemed like everyone was playing their hardest and trying to get the win. I think our execution is terrible.”

On his ankle and bruised hip
“I was ok. I was playing at probably 90 percent. My ankle didn’t stiffen up, but it was just a little sore. I was just thinking that I have to play through it and I went out there and gave it a run. It wasn’t as bad as it was last game. I am going to keep going at this and keep trying to play hard.”

Jon Brockman

On the team’s current frustrations
“The frustration builds, but we are taking it out in different ways. We are not spreading apart. Of course we are mad that we are losing, no one wants to lose, and everyone wants to win. We are not taking it out on each other. We are staying together. I think the only way that you can take it out is to work harder, stay focused and stay on the right path.”

San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich

George Hill’s performance…
“George is probably the most improved player in the whole league. From his rookie year, last year to this year he’s starting to get confident and played well at both ends of the floor. He’s going to be a really fine player for us.”

Team’s defense…
“We played pretty good defense for about four or five minutes and we got the lead. Other than that we stunk defensively. They did a good job. They hung in, stayed aggressive, stayed active, and stayed in the game.”

DeJuan Blair’s performance …
“DeJuan is having a really good rookie year. He’s like a stat machine. Points and rebounds, he just gets them. I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. He has no moves. I’ve taught him nothing and he scores and rebounds. So I just leave him alone and not screw up a good thing. It’s wonderful.”

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs Guard

George Hill’s contribution…
“It’s been very important. Defensively he’s been very solid, most of the time guarding the best opponent. He’s developed a great mid-range shot, very reliable on the corner three and attacking the rim because of his length and athleticism. He’s been huge for us. Today he was just magnificent. He played all over the court very well and made big free throws down the stretch. He’s a big contributor.”

Taking over the game defensively in an offensive game…
“It was a small stretch. When you come to Sacramento and let the home team score 60 points in the first half. That’s not a great thing especially for us. In the third quarter we improved. In the fourth we did better. The last two minutes were kind of crazy. They made big threes and scored a lot of points but in the second half we really stepped up.”

Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs Center

George Hill’s contribution…
“He’s been great for us. His development especially this year has come so quick. He’s turned into a real threat for us and the best perimeter defender. He’s kind of an all-around player for us and playing big minutes. He’s stepped up to bat and he’s done a great job for us.”

Sacramento Kings’ improvement…
“They’ve improved. Tyreke (Evans) has turned into a heck of a player and leader. Kevin (Martin)’s starting to get healthy and get back on the floor. They have a great young core and have a promising future.”

Evans Likely to Play Against Spurs

With seven out of the past eight and three upcoming games against current playoff-bound teams, the Sacramento Kings are amidst a tough stretch. As a young team striving to be mentioned among the postseason group, however, the Kings formidable matchups provide continual opportunity to gauge the team’s development.

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Postgame Recap: Kings @ Nuggets

DENVER 112, SACRAMENTO 109 OT

February 1, 2010 - At the Pepsi Center, Arron Afflalo’s fadeaway jumper with 18.4 seconds left in overtime gave the Nuggets a 112-109 overtime win over the Kings as Tyreke Evans and Carmelo Anthony sat out with injuries for their respective teams. Spencer Hawes’ tip-in off of Omri Casspi’s miss with 27.9 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 99-99. Each team could not score on their final possession, forcing the overtime session. It shouldn’t have come down to that though. Thanks to outscoring the Nuggets, 38-24, in the second quarter, the Kings had a 64-50 advantage at the half. The lead then grew to 17 points, 72-55, with 6:34 left in the third quarter. But then the Nuggets woke up, outscoring the Kings, 18-6, to trail by five entering the fourth quarter. A 7-0 run to start the fourth gave the Nuggets an 80-78 lead. Denver led for the rest of the quarter and held a 99-95 edge with 55 seconds left. Casspi hit a hook shot in the lane and a Hawes tip-in sent the game into overtime. In the extra period, the Nuggets led by as many as five, but the Kings responded with a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Hawes for a 109-107 Kings lead with 1:36 left. Nene made a lay-up to tie the score before Afflalo’s game-winner. Hawes finished with a team-high 23 points and Kevin Martin added 22 points. Jon Brockman recorded a double-double with a career-high 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Kenyon Martin led all players with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Chauncey Billups, despite struggling from the field (6-of-25), finished with 23 points. Sacramento outshot from the field (48.8 to 46.1) and the free throw line (91.7 to 68.4) and outrebounded (48 to 33) the Nuggets, but turned the ball over 19 times, 10 coming in the third quarter.

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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A Sign of the Kings Potential

Thanks to the outstanding play and contribution rookies Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi have made to the team to begin their NBA careers, the Sacramento Kings will be represented at NBA All-Star Weekend in Dallas Feb.12-14, as participants in the 2010 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam.

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Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Warriors

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“I’m not going to lie, it feels good to get a win. Obviously it wasn’t the prettiest win anybody’s ever seen in this league – we shot 38 percent, they shot 32 percent, we had 21 turnovers – and we still found a way to win. So I’m not going to quibble about that. I thought we got some really phenomenal performances from Spencer (Hawes) and Sean May. It was very, very professional how ready (Sean) was to play. That’s a hard thing to do when you’re out of game action as long as he’s been out. To come in there and do what he did was much needed and very good. I thought that both Donte (Greene) and Ime (Udoka) did a real, real good job on (Corey) Maggette. It was their job to try to make his life tough and he missed a lot more shots than he usually misses but I think they probably had a little bit to do with it anyway. So it was great to get out of here with a win. I thought certainly Beno (Udrih) off the bench was back to playing how he’s been playing most of the year and we needed every bit of his contribution. So we’re off the snide.”

On the decision to utilize Sean May:
“Well (Jon) Brockman got hurt yesterday and he was the next big in our rotation. He’s been playing well in practice, working hard, and we thought that he deserved a look.”

On Spencer Hawes:
“He’s had some good games already this year, some really good games, but I would put (tonight) right up there with his best and it wasn’t just because he was making shots. I think that his balance, his presence on defense and (his play) offensively – he’s spreading out and playing big like we want him to play. So I saw the most progress in his game with his intensity that I’ve seen all year.”

“I think on the middle of this road trip, you’d have to ask him to verify it or not, but to me it seemed like a light bulb went on for Spencer. He has made some of the adjustments in his game that we think he needs to work on to make himself the player he wants to be and can be. I think that it’s really been coming on for a few games now, this kind of presence that he’s been bringing. So it wasn’t just tonight, he’s been showing it to us both in the game and in practice. Even though the team hasn’t played well, I think Spencer has improved in his play lately.”

On the play of Donte Greene:
“Well you need players like Donte when you play one of Nellie’s teams because they run a lot of big and small lineups at you, make changes, and you have to be able to guard. Donte can guard really all of the positions that they can present so he was a very valuable piece for us at the defensive end particularly. He’s a versatile offensive player too. I thought one of the biggest plays of the game was when we went to him down in the post and he delivered down there. He made a big block defensively and he inbounded the ball under pressure a couple times which is a tough thing to do. He’s got some toughness about him under pressure that really gets him minutes on the floor.”

On the struggle and confidence of Kevin Martin:
“Well I’m sure his confidence is rock-bottom right now – he’s 1 for 7, 1 for 7 and 1 for 9. He’s human but at the same time he’s trying to play through it and be aggressive. It wasn’t his night tonight but he’s going to get there. It’s confidence, it’s timing, it’s seeing the ball going through the basket a few times, it’s a little bit of conditioning – it’s all of those things. I thought that he approached the game in a positive way today and things just didn’t go that well for him. He’s still going to be a big part of this team real, real soon production-wise.”

Sean May

“It felt good to be out there. It feels like it has been forever and my adrenaline kicked in. One thing in this league is you have to stay ready. I have talked about that before and I have talked to coach about it. One thing I continue to do is work and stay ready waiting for my opportunity. It came tonight and luckily we got a win.”

When asked if a win is a win
“Obviously we got a win, which is great, especially coming off the road and having six losses, but the good thing is we can enjoy it tonight and get into the gym tomorrow. When we dissect the film, that is when he (Coach Westphal) can bring out all the bad stuff. There were a lot of things in this game that went wrong. We wilted in the fourth quarter, but luckily they shot horrendous tonight. We also beat them on the glass. There is something to be said on gutting out the win. We got one.”

On being ready to play
It feels good. From the guys that I have played with - Nazr Mohammed, who was a guy who didn’t play at all last year and now he is getting minutes this year. Last year he told me, ‘you just always have to stay in shape.’ You never know when someone is going to go down or what is going to happen. It was my motivation. Just stay in shape, your number is going to be called. Too many things can happen within a course of a season, with injuries or whatever. If you are not ready, it is no ones fault but your own. Everyday I come in, I do cardio and I treat practices like games. I just try to go hard and prove to them that I deserve to play. Hopefully that is what (Coach Westphal) saw and that is why he decided to play me. Jon (Brockman) went down, which is unfortunate, but it was an opportunity. Hopefully, he will come back in a couple games and it just makes us that much deeper.”

Spencer Hawes
“It feels good, especially after that road trip and it had everyone down. To turn it around, especially against a team in our division is nice.”

“I saw the other day I got a D+ (grading by the Sacramento Bee) and you have to use stuff like that to motivate yourself. I know that I haven’t been playing as well as I think that I should be and I knew it was time to get back on track.”

On how he keeps it going from here
“I am going to continue to play with intensity, try to use the defensive end and rebound to help get me going early on, instead of relying on offense.”

Tyreke Evans
“We came out aggressive and I thought that we should have closed it out better in the fourth quarter. We are still trying to find our rhythm and get the big guys going. I thought that I should start out early and not hold anything back.”

“It feels pretty good, especially since we lost seven straight. To come back home and go out there and play hard - it felt pretty good. We just have to stay focused and do the same thing on the road.”

Golden State Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson

Tonight’s game…
“We got back into the game some how. We played a pretty good second half. I didn’t like our first half at all. I didn’t like the ball movement. In the second half I think we moved the ball and shared the ball. We did a lot better job. We just didn’t make enough shots earlier in the game. When we shoot 32 percent for the night, we’re not going to win the game shooting that percentage. We did get back in it so it turned out to be a pretty decent game.”

Stephen Curry’s performance tonight…
“It was a good performance. He has played well now almost every game for a long time.”

Monta Ellis’ importance to the team…
“It’s so hard to score and do the things that we are used to doing right now. We’re not making shots. We need Monta back.”

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors Guard

Getting back into the game…
“It was defense no doubt about it. We tried to play from behind and came out in the third quarter with a big run and cut the lead down to six points. They pushed it right back to double digits. We just had to make big stops. We just couldn’t get enough rebounds to get in transition we like we wanted to. We had to play a small lineup. Our defense really kept us in the game. We didn’t shoot the ball too well tonight so something else had to (keep us in the game), to give us a shot.”

Team’s performance…
“First half we were kind of stagnant. Even when we had ball movement our shots just weren’t falling. We shot 32 percent for the game. It felt like we were right there. We didn’t make enough plays to get over that hump. We made it tough enough on them to give us a chance to win down the stretch. We just didn’t make shots earlier in the game.”

Cartier Martin, Golden State Warriors Guard

Team’s performance…
“Second half we were more assertive. We played more as a team. We slowly got back into it.”

Team’s struggles tonight…
“We just had one of those bad shooting nights. I shot 1-of-6 from the 3-point line. We just didn’t shoot the ball well from the outside tonight. So we tried to get inside, get fouled and tried to make it happen on the inside so we could get to the line and possibly get our rhythm going.”

Postgame Recap: Kings at Bobcats

CHARLOTTE 105 SACRAMENTO 103

January 18, 2010 - At Time Warner Cable Arena, on Martin Luther King Day, former King Gerald Wallace scored 28 points and Raymond Felton narrowly missed a triple-double as the Bobcats withstood a late Kings rally to hold on to a 105-103 win. Tyreke Evans scored 14 of his career-high 34 points in the fourth quarter in trying to lead the Kings to another comeback. Sacramento trailed by as many as 24 points in the third quarter (82-58 at the 4:09 mark) but used a 14-2 run to close the quarter and trail by 12 entering the fourth. Thirteen straight points by the Kings brought them to within one, 94-93, with 4:11 remaining. The Kings were within one again, with 2.4 seconds left after Beno Udrih’s three-pointer, but Flip Murray made one of two free throw attempts to complete the scoring. Besides his 34 points, Evans recorded four rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and three blocks. Andres Nocioni and Omri Casspi each tallied 13 points. Kevin Martin, in his third game back, finished with nine points. Jon Brockman grabbed a game-high and career-high 14 rebounds. Felton recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. Boris Diaw contributed 13 points and Murray added 12 off the bench.

NOTES: Kevin Martin moved into second place on the Kings’ all-time career list for free throws made in the Sacramento era, passing Peja Stojakovic (1,724). Of Brockman’s career-high 14 boards, seven came on the offensive end. The Kings turned the ball over 20 times, one shy of their season high. After a bad first half in which the Kings were outscored (47 to 66) and outshot (44.4 to 58.1), Sacramento turned it around in the second, outscoring (56 to 39) and outshooting (53.8 to 35.0) the Bobcats. Tyreke Evans scored 26 points (10-13 FG, 6-8 FT) in the second half.

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