JT’s Blog: Off-Court Fun and Overcoming Injury

I have to start out this blog with a shout out to Sac High. They hosted a little JT pep rally, and I had a lot of fun out there. Read more

Petrie Discusses Kings Trade Deadline Moves

Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie
Feb. 18, 2010

Opening Statement:

“We acquired four players today – Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, Dominic McGuire and Larry Hughes and part of that trade involved Kevin Martin, Sergio and Hilton. I think a couple of things we accomplished today are number one, I think we really augmented and filled some holes in our frontline with the acquisition of Landry. He’s a very productive scorer. He’s comfortable playing inside and out, out away from the basket, probably one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, currently in the League, even though Jamal Crawford is having a great, great year in Atlanta, as well. We’re really looking forward to watching him come in and add to what Spencer and Jason are able to do. The second thing is we continued to lower our salary cap for this summer by a very significant amount, or at least potentially lower it, and going forward into the future as well. With Joey Dorsey, he hasn’t had a lot of chance to play yet, but he is a legitimate defender, rebounder and shot blocker, and definitely has a physical presence who hasn’t played a lot yet, but (this is) a good opportunity to get a look at him as well.

Dominic McGuire is a good defender and can defend a couple positions and had some interesting moments at Washington (Wizards). So we’ll hopefully get all the different forms filed and notifications done, and the trade will get completely consummated here in the next couple of days.”

On if he was originally looking to trade Kevin:

“I really had a real bias, probably, or preference not to trade him, overall, but when this opportunity started to present itself, it just seemed like it was, as things went along, with the things that we were able to accomplish in a couple different areas, it made some sense for us.”

On if there was a desire to have Tracy McGrady play in Sacramento:

“The way these things tend to work, is they start out, and each team has some different motivations as to what they’re trying to accomplish, and who the key pieces are, and this would not have been a final destination probably for Tracy McGrady. So it then becomes players, numbers, how it can work with the salary cap, and then where the various talents that the teams really want end up residing.”

On if the New York Knicks were always a part of the trade:

“The (Houston) Rockets had been having some ongoing negotiations with the Knicks as far as I know and we’re not in control of that and obviously I don’t get all the detail on it, but we got pretty close by late last night with the Rockets, in terms of a deal that would work for us. So we felt, coming into the morning anyway, that we were in pretty good shape, regardless of what happened between the Knicks and Houston.”

On what factors the notion of Kevin Martin playing with Tyreke Evans played in the trade:

“Not too much really. I just think that we have a lot of wing players on our team. I think that we can fill a lot of the void there. It was more of the opportunity to get a player as productive and consistent as Landry, where we really need to fill some holes up front. Again, the potential salary cap enhancement for us was a big factor as well. The team’s played better this year, we’re going to win more games than last year, but we still need to continue to try and add to what we have, obviously, and that’s now going to come in the form of the Draft again, and on into free agency, where we will have a significant amount of real room but so will a lot of other teams.”

On how much the last month with Kevin in the lineup was a factor in the trade:

“It didn’t come into play at all, unless something came up that you thought made sense. In the last 36 hours, something came along that made sense, regardless of the last month. We could’ve gone into the rest of the season, and into the summer and not done a whole lot, maybe other than some cosmetic things here, but this was an opportunity to add a really high quality frontcourt player and create some more flexibility in other areas and when you put that all together, we thought it was worth it.”

On the expectations surrounding the backcourt pairing of Kevin and Tyreke:

“In all fairness to Kevin, I think it’s really hard to live up to those kind of expectations when you’ve been out that long, and I really did think the last three out of the last four games or so he was starting to look more like his normal self, but again, this is something we feel we wanted to do.”

On if today’s moves makes the Kings a major player in the upcoming free agency period:

“Look, there are probably eight teams now that are going to have an excess of $20 million of real room, and some more than that. We’ll be out there, and we’ll see what happens.”

On if the trade was decided upon in the past 24-36 hours:

“I think it would be very unwise to make decisions on 24-36 hours. You’re making decisions based on the history of performance, what you’re trying to do with your team, what one player can do versus another, what it means for your salary cap, what it means for how you want to see the team play going forward. It’s working with your head coach to try and build a roster that he feels would be better and has a chance to get better. It’s all those things, it’s not something that happens in 24 hours.”

On waiving Kenny Thomas:

“Well we wanted to make this trade with Washington in order to acquire Dominic. We had to create a roster spot. And really, the only way at the 11th hour to do that, was to waive Kenny.”

Geoff’s message to fans whose favorite player was Kevin Martin and to assure them this move is good for the Kings:

“Some of these players will become their favorite player.”

On what Kings fans can take away from the trade:

“I think that we made a good move for the team. We added a very high quality frontcourt player, we have more financial flexibility going forward, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it looks through these last 28 games.”

On the potential of including Knicks forward David Lee in the trade:

“To my knowledge, David Lee has never been available.”

On if he’s spoken with Kevin today:

“I called Kevin a minute after the trade call was done and I didn’t get him, I did leave him a message. He did send a very nice email to the organization about his time here, and I also texted him after I left a message and really thanked him, said I hope we have a chance to visit here at some point and that he’s been a real pro, and that I always wish him the best.”

On if Carl will become a starter:

“I really think you need to ask Paul that. I think, you know, he’s averaging over 16 points per game, playing 27 minutes a game for a good team. I’m sure he’s going to play a lot of minutes. What form that takes, Paul will work that out.”

On if the newly acquired Kings players will play in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers:

“I don’t know. You’ve got nine players involved here with three teams, and there’s a lot of forms and a lot of certifications that need to get done and then to the League office, and even if we get ours done, they all have to be done and you need to get an email from the League saying that the trade’s completed before they can practice or play. We will have ours done before the game on Saturday, now you’ve got deadlines on Sunday and Monday for other things, so I don’t know. I hope so, I hope so.”

On if he’s spoken with the newly acquired Kings players yet:

“I have not, not yet, no. We have waived a physical on some of the players, and Carl will take a physical.

On when Carl’s physical will be completed:

“Hopefully we’ll get it done tomorrow.”

On what could have happened had Kevin not gotten injured this season:

“I don’t know. I think of Kevin Martin as somebody we drafted, who developed into a terrific player, can be a prolific scorer at times and how things work out sometimes, there’s a lot of circumstance in life, and I’m sure Kevin’s going to go on and do just fine. He’s always been a real professional as far as I’m concerned and I wish him well.”

On if the upcoming expiration of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement is a factor in every move Geoff is making right now:

“It’s hard to say. I’m really not at liberty to talk a whole lot about collective bargaining, but we’re like a lot of teams, we’re trying to plan our future and have flexibility, because we need to continue, obviously, to improve the team and add more pieces and we’re keeping an eye on everything. It might affect how we can do that.”

On whether additional cuts will be made:

“I don’t think so. Not in the immediate (future).”

On what Carl Landry brings to the Kings:

“He can play on the block, off the block, at the elbow. You can throw him the ball and he’s a 57% shooter, an 80%-plus free throw shooter, and he’s a physically aggressive player. Like I said, he’s definitely going to augment our frontcourt.”

On changing the image of the Kings:

“Again, I think we wanted to change the perception of the way our team played and I think we’ve done that, although it didn’t happen last night, but you saw it against Boston I think, and in a lot of other games. Again, it’s working with Paul to build a roster that we both feel will be different and be more successful. Certainly Landry is a more physical presence, and Dorsey, I don’t know how much he would play or what he will do, but he’s certainly that as well, so, let’s all find out together I guess.”

On if he received similar opportunities to add the same factors that Carl brings to the Kings and obtain financial flexibility in exchange for Kevin:

“Not that I’m aware of.”

On his thoughts of other teams’ actions during the trading deadline:

“Again, the trading deadline has become more and more a function of different motivations for teams trying to accomplish different things. They have been one of the busier ones, but that’s for each individual team to decide when you get right down to it.”

On the Kings core:

“I think we’ve improved it. He’s (Landry) 27 years old, but we’ll have to wait now and see what shows up on the floor and how we utilize it and see how everybody works together.”

On Larry Hughes:

“The situation with Larry is actually he has a fracture on his left hand and he’s being treated and he’s in a splint currently back on the East Coast. We’ve agreed that he can stay back there and continue to work with those people. So, it’s not anticipated that he’s going to be here with the team while he’s undergoing his rehab and treatment back there. We did wait to put a reporting on the physical on him.”

On if he expects to see Larry this season:

“Don’t know.”

Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Warriors

Paul Westphal:

“I have a dentist appointment tomorrow, and if I go in without any anesthetics, it will probably feel better than I feel right now. They beat us 42-16 in the second quarter. The first quarter is what I expected for the game, but the second quarter killed us. We were embarrassed. The Warriors played great. They were fantastic. Everything they did tonight was great. When you fall apart like we did, it is hard to get back into the game. I just wanted them to compete evenly for the rest of the game and not quit. I wanted them to salvage anything that they could.”

Spencer Hawes-

“To play like we played against the caliber of the Boston Celtics the last game and to play the way we played tonight; there is no excuse. We started out ok in the beginning of the second quarter. With a team like the Warriors, you can’t try to beat them at what they do. When they get you in that trap, it’s hard to get out of it. We tried to play them to their style, and when they would hit a three, we tried to do the same. That’s something that you cannot do with a team like this. We would shoot after one pass and sometimes bad shots lead to fastbreaks. Last year, it seemed like we had games like this all the time, but this may have been the worst we played this year.”

Kevin Martin-

“It’s not a good feeling to have after a loss like this. We let them jump on us in the second quarter and we weren’t able to get back into the game.”

(On trade rumors)
“Sources say a lot during the deadline. I didn’t play in the second half, but I can’t speculate. We have a great coaching staff and Paul (Westphal) is a great coach, so we will see what happens. All I want to do is be a better basketball player tomorrow.”

Coach Don Nelson:

“Well, how about that. That was about a lot of fun for those guys [to] take shots. Seeing C.J. [Watson] get a career high to the 40 point mark that was all on the front. The game was just one where we shared the ball, just played in the open court, and did it with a small lineup. I am very pleased with [our] performance.”

(on G Stephen Curry having a good bounce back game after last night’s game versus Los Angeles Lakers)
“He played great. The Lakers beat us, but we played great. I thought that [Curry] would but yes, it’s always good to bounce back after a bad performance.’

(on G C.J. Watson getting open during the game)
“He just had that rhythm. That happens sometimes when you just start making shots and the basket looks really big. We saw him do that before in Utah. We went up and beat Utah last year, and I think that he had [38] in that game. He can get on a roll and the guys found him when he was open that helped. We ran him into a lot of screen-and-rolls as well and that was his open shot tonight which was a 17-18 foot jumper and he made them.”

(on the teams open looks on three pointers during the game)
“We got open looks because we pushed the tempo, all of the loose balls, and all of the long rebounds in the first three quarters. We got some lucky bounces in there too. I told the team at halftime ‘Don’t get too full of yourselves.’ First of all, know that they were down to Chicago by thirty at halftime and won the game in Chicago. They are very capable of making shots and we didn’t want to change the tempo. We wanted to keep going and not become conservative. I became conservative in the fourth quarter just because we wanted to do clock management, but we always wanted to run. We always wanted to take open shots on the break. But when it’s not there, we tired to run the clock a little bit and did a good job. We won every quarter, I think. I told the team that I wanted to win the last quarter and I think we did

C.J. Watson :

“I mean I just try and go out there and play, and play aggressive. I knew Monta (Ellis) wasn’t playing so I just knew I had to pick up the scoring load and just try and get some points in transition and shots fell for me and we won so that’s all I care about.”

On Trying for his Career High:
“I didn’t think I was going to get it actually, I sat on the bench and my legs got tired so I missed three shots in a row so I just tried to get to the basket and get a layup.

On Getting Hot:
“Middle of the first quarter I hit a couple of shots and drove to the basket and got a couple of ‘And 1’s’ and was making free throws and just felt my rhythm just kept going. Kept being aggressive and keep putting the pressure on them.”

Stephen Curry:

On C.J. Watson
“He just started off firing and he got his looks. Looking at the rim like that, making every shot, barely hitting the rim, you give him the ball. And when guys start keying in on him in the second half he starts dishing the ball and getting assists. He was an all around threat tonight so and outstanding performance tonight, one of the best I’ve seen this year.”

On Trying to get C.J. Watson his last Two Points:

“It was kind of reminiscent of the triple double last week. We all knew he was two points away, he knew it, and he was just trying to get that last two. First 40 point game of his career so we were all pulling for him, excited for him and made a really difficult shot at the end to get that 40 so I’m glad it happened.”

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.”

Rookies’ All-Star Showing Gives Kings Boost

After a three-day basketball break for all but two members of the Sacramento Kings – Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi – All-Star Weekend provided players and coaches a chance to rest and get reenergized for the final 30-game stretch of the regular season.

Read more

Postgame Recap: Kings @ Pistons

SACRAMENTO 103, DETROIT 97

February 10, 2010 - At the Palace of Auburn Hills, Kevin Martin tallied a game-high 26 points and Beno Udrih added 22 off the bench to help the Kings secure a 103-97 win over the Pistons. With the win, the Kings surpassed last season’s win total while becoming the first Kings’ team since the 2003-04 season to win back-to-back road contests heading into the NBA All-Star Weekend. The Kings took the lead for good after Martin made two free throws for an 87-85 lead with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter. Each time the Pistons inched closer, the Kings had an answer. Tyreke Evans scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Martin tallied nine points, hitting 3-of-4 from the field and all three of his free throw attempts. Sacramento’s defense in the fourth blocked six Pistons’ shots and limited Detroit to 30.4 percent shooting from the field. Andres Nocioni tallied 13 points off the bench and Spencer Hawes grabbed a team-high 11 boards. Tayshaun Prince scored a season-high 23 points to lead Detroit. Rodney Stuckey added 17 points and Ben Wallace grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Pistons

SACRAMENTO KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

On back-to-back road wins before the break
“I’m very happy, our team is getting better and one of our problems has been that we let go of leads and two nights in a row we did just the opposite. Tonight our defense really stiffened up and we actually got some stops which is what we needed to do if you want to win road games in this league. So, we are learning and we are getting good performances from different people and we hate to have this break happen right now. However, it’s a good time for it and it is good to take two road wins into the break.”

On bench stepping up
“We were having a hard time playing with any energy at the beginning of the ball game and then Nocioni and Beno (Udrih) came into the game and were just very aggressive and changed the tone of the game for us. Jason Thompson then came in and did a good job on the boards as well. Then when the starters came back in there later, they took the cue from Beno and Andres. It was definitely a group effort in all ways tonight.”

SACRAMENTO KINGS GUARD KEVIN MARTIN

On back-to-back wins on road
“It was huge, especially for our confidence since we were struggling with that coming in to this road trip and we just wanted to get a couple of wins and we did. We just knew what we were up against tonight with the All-Star break here. Sometimes guys mentality is to pack it in early, but we didn’t do that tonight.”

On finishing strong
“We did, we just wanted to execute better down the stretch because when you have guys out there like Rip and Tayshaun who has been through everything in this league, they know how to execute down the stretch and we just wanted to do the same. We hit shots and they didn’t down the stretch.”

On bench help
“Beno (Udrih) and Nocioni came in and gave us a spark and that is what we needed. Sometimes, especially on back-to-backs, with the game that we had in overtime last night in New York, guys played a lot of minutes. So, tonight Beno and Nocioni came in and gave us a big lift and they got everyone else going.”

DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH JOHN KUESTER

On the game
“I know our thought process going into this thing was in the right way. In the beginning, we just kept trading baskets back and fourth in the first and second quarter and we couldn’t come up with stops. As good as we were defensively at times last night, we weren’t as good tonight. Going into the fourth quarter, you’re tied up - our execution wasn’t as crisp as it was the night before.”

On Nocioni and Udrih
“Well, Udrih lit us up. He goes from five minutes versus New York and then comes in and lights us up. That hurt and Nocioni came in and hurt us. You have to go into this thing knowing that these guys are in the NBA for a reason and you have to play them straight up.”

On gaining some momentum before the All-Star break
“Going into it, we really had that mindset, looking forward to that next game and recognizing that, ‘Hey, listen, we’re headed in the right direction.’ We took one step forward and two steps backwards. This game can be very unkind to you at times especially if you don’t do things the right way and we didn’t do things the right way defensively or offensively.”

On the team’s consistency
“It seemed like we weren’t as poised as we were the night before. We go from being so poised to not being as in control as we had been. It seemed like we were rushing things. These guys wanted to win so badly tonight but sometimes when you want something so badly you end up rushing as opposed to doing things like you did the night before.”

DETROIT PISTONS FORWARD CHARLIE VILLANUEVA

On the disappointing loss
“It’s very disappointing. We let that that one slip away. We gave them this game. We will spend a couple days off, get away from basketball and be focused on Monday.”

On the game
“I think we were playing well, and then they made a run. We kind of got away from what we were doing at the first half. I think that during first half we were playing very well.”

On the All-Star break
“A lot of things change during an All-Star break when guys come back. Hopefully, we will be one of those teams that can make a push.”

Postgame Recap: Kings @ Raptors

TORONTO 115, SACRAMENTO 104

February 7, 2010 - At Air Canada Centre, Chris Bosh scored 12 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Raptors to a 115-104 win over the Kings, sending Sacramento to its sixth straight loss. Kevin Martin scored 24 points for the Kings who fought back from an early 10-point second quarter deficit and led by seven, 91-84, with 11:11 left in the fourth quarter. The Raptors went on an 8-0 run to take a 92-91 lead. With the score tied, 96-96, Toronto used an 11-1 spurt to take control of the game and lead, 107-97, with 3:28 remaining. A Martin pulled the Kings within seven, but the Raptors answered with a Bosh alley oop dunk and a three-pointer by Andrea Bargnani. Spencer Hawes recorded a double-double with 14 points and a game-high-tying 11 rebounds. Donte Greene added 13 points. Tyreke Evans accounted for 11 points, four rebounds, and nine assists. Jason Thompson returned to the Kings’ lineup after a two-game absence to tally 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. Bosh also recorded a double-double, grabbing a game-high-tying 11 boards. Bargnani finished with 22 points. Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright each contributed 16 points. The Kings outrebounded the Raptors, 46-39, but could not connect on their free throws, missing nine of their 36 attempts.

Postgame Quotes: Kings @ Raptors

PAUL WESTPHAL (Head Coach)

On today’s game…
Well, we had a lead in the fourth quarter and couldn’t hold it. We missed a lot of free throws, we couldn’t control Bosh and Antoine Wright made some big plays for them. In general, we couldn’t stop them. We shot 56 per cent, we did a good job on the boards, we did a lot better job with our turnovers but we couldn’t finish the deal and it was primarily because we couldn’t get the stops we needed. The 42-44 minutes of really good basketball for us and the four-six minutes that wasn’t, gives us a loss to take down to New York with us.

Thoughts on the play of Chris Bosh…
We were trying to make it tough for him to catch it, we were trying to double him, in certain situations, sometimes on the dribble, sometimes early. They do a good job of spacing the floor and slotting him in places where it’s hard to double. He had a terrific game. A terrific game by a terrific player.

What happened down the stretch in the fourth quarter?
Well, we missed a bunch of free throws, we missed some open shots and it seemed like it was going back and forth. Neither team was very successful at keeping the other team from getting good shots. We blinked, we missed, they didn’t. And then we’re playing from behind in desperation. The other team gets a cushion and they capitalized very well on that too.

DONTE GREENE (13 points, five rebounds)

Thoughts on Chris Bosh today…
An All-Star in the league, a good player when he gets going like that you just try and stay in front of him. Keep contact with him and try and make it as uncomfortable as possible, but it is tough when he gets going like that for anyone to stop him.

When Toronto started making shots and the crowd got going, did you guys start to tense up?
I wouldn’t say tensing up, we just didn’t make shots, normal shots that we make. Missing free throws often hurts you and giving up 56 per cent from the field makes it tough to win a game.

Did the early start have an effect today?
I don’t like to make excuses. It is 9:00 am our time and we woke up at 6:00 some of us 5:00. It is our job so we can’t really make excuses on it.

TYREKE EVANS (11 points, nine assists)

What happened late in the fourth quarter?
I thought we just didn’t play it out. We had good looks, I was trying to find my teammates too and doing a good job of attacking the paint. I was just trying to win and create for others. They have an All-Star on their team Chris Bosh and he played a great game.

You guys are on the cusp a lot, right there but not quite enough…
That is one of our problems. Coach says that we are almost there, but that is not going to get us where we want be. We just have to find a way to close out games down the stretch but we had good looks. We didn’t turn the ball over, it’s just that we didn’t make shots at the end of the game.

How have you transitioned from one year of college to the NBA?
I just go out there and play the game. When I go out there and play it is just natural to me. I just try and go out there and play with my teammates, try and find open guys and get it done.

JAY TRIANO (Head Coach)

Thoughts on the play defensively in the second half…
We didn’t want to show too soon. We stayed with our traditional stuff and then midway through the fourth or whenever we think we need it, we make the adjustment that we have been making. We were able to get guys on the floor that we wanted on the floor because we had foul trouble early, but we wanted Antoine (Wright) on the floor and we wanted him guarding Tyreke (Evans) as much as we could at the end of the game.

Thoughts on the defensive play against Tyreke Evans…
I think it is a little bit of everything. Everybody is involved in it, but he still makes plays for other people. We didn’t want to get too sucked into the paint trying to help on him and have them kick for threes. We knew this team could score coming in. We knew they had no problem scoring. With Kevin Martin back in the lineup and Tyreke (Evans) playing the way he is they can put points up quick. They get a ball that bounces in off our guy on a rebound, bank in a 15-footer and then they make three threes in a row and all of a sudden it is a ball game. Our guys had to bear down in the fourth and we did defensively.

Thoughts on the decision making of Chris Bosh in the fourth quarter…
Chris (Bosh) is a smart basketball player. He knew after scoring going to the basket and going to the basket that they had to come; they had to trap him. I give out guys credit because for a change we didn’t just stand on the perimeter. We had guys cutting and diving and Chris found them and then when we didn’t find those guys we swung it and found somebody else moving. Teams are in a hole when they have to send two guys at him. Our guys did a pretty good job sharing the basketball and moving it and everybody gets credit when the ball goes in.

ANTOINE WRIGHT (16 points, five rebounds)

Thoughts on the similarities between Chris Bosh and Dirk Nowitzki…
A lot of the plays we ran in Dallas were isolations for Dirk (Nowitzki) at the elbow. Aside from Chris (Bosh) being left- handed, a lot of his game is face-up to the basket, jab steps, shooting jump shots and pretty much everyone else having to respect that and staying home. If you leave Andrea (Bargnani), he is a shooter, Jose (Calderon) is shooting the ball well, (Jarrett) Jack is shooting the ball well, so it’s all about having those surrounding shooters around a great player.

Thoughts on the level of intensity….
We have to play with that type of an attitude at home because that is what all the winning teams have. They have a type of swagger about them and in order for teams to understand how hard it’s going to be to play against us; we have to play with that type of intensity.

CHRIS BOSH (36 points, 11 rebounds, five assists)

What was the key for your performance today…
I just wanted to be patient. I am feeling really confident right now, especially in my teammates. A few times they had their guy on the island, so in that situation I am going to attack them as much as possible.

Thoughts on the energy in the fourth quarter tonight…
Most of the time when I am sitting down in the post, guys are going to double. I think we have a lot of weapons and we are really starting to get our chemistry right. They double team, the ball gets them moved and we have three-point shooters. When we have our shooters with defenders closing out on them usually it is to our advantage.

HEDO TURKOGLU (16 points, five assists)

Thoughts on wearing the mask…
They wanted me to wear it, but I didn’t. I wanted to look at the big picture for my career, for my life and from the team’s perspective. If I get hit it could keep me out longer than expected. I don’t need to be stupid or be a hero about it. I just have to put it on and try and do the best I can. Tonight I tried to focus on the game. I wanted to play aggressive and play my game.

Postgame Quotes: Kings vs. Suns

KINGS HEAD COACH PAUL WESTPHAL

“Well that first quarter barrage just put us back on our heels for the whole game. I thought that they came out and really took care of business, especially (Robin) Lopez and (Steve) Nash. They dominated us inside and Nash was hitting those buzzer-beating threes that are improbable for most but routine for him. So we were just back on our heels and we could never really get back in the game. We made a little run at the start of the third quarter and cut it to 10 and then we had Nash hit one of those from about 10 feet behind to put it up 13. Then we didn’t execute two plays in a row and they went down and got dunks because of it. Then it was pretty much (playing) catch-up the rest of the way. It’s a great team loaded with all-stars and they played very, very well. We couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole.”

“The things that we worked on – probably the worst team in the world to play against is the Suns after you do that. We’re trying to do a better job of controlling penetration and when you do that Nash can pick you apart. They have the best three-point shooting team in the league. For the most part, the things that hurt us the most in the first quarter were second shots. That hasn’t been that bad of a problem all year but it was a horrible problem in the first half. Nash wasn’t missing shots himself and when they did happen to miss, Lopez got the second shot and he was dominant in that first quarter. That really gave them some separation. So it wasn’t the things we worked on as much as the things that they did too well for us to overcome.”

“Well we had a great defensive stop, only to have Nash take a buzzer-beater from about 10 feet behind the line and he made that, and that put us down 13. Then we had a play we called and we didn’t go down and run it. We diagramed it out of a time out and we had two guys running it and three guys where they weren’t supposed to be. So we were so confused on the way back and they got a dunk. I guess we lost focus. Then we went down and were supposed to run the next play, then they ran something we’d never seen before, they got another dunk, so then it was 17. So that’s what happened.”

“Well we came out very well at the start of the third quarter. We came out, we cut it down to 10 and then I just explained twice what happened after that – we were playing catch-up the rest of the game.”

“We’ve had stretches in various games, I think I can point to a few that were pretty good. So I don’t necessarily say it always happens at the same time. But we do have the air go out of our balloon way too often, and I will agree with you on that.”

“Well this road trip is kind of tough. I don’t want to give us an excuse in advance but it’s probably the worst scheduling I’ve ever. To fly east and play a noon game – I don’t think that was very good scheduling. Having said that, we have played an incredible string of great teams and they’ve been playing really well. So we got hit with a two by four and we’ll see if we’re still standing. I think we will be.”

“I thought Donte (Greene) was outstanding for us tonight, obviously. The numbers are excellent and he took a major step forward again as he has been lately. Donte has probably come further than anybody else we have this year improvement-wise and I don’t see him slowing down at all.”

Donte Greene

On if it is hard to keep the passion going
“No, because we are a young team. We have to go out there and play the game and to do what we do every night is a blessing for us young guys. I think it would be harder (to keep the passion) if we were a veteran team. When guys have been in the league longer and they lose and start worrying about getting their contacts. We are a young team though, so we are going to keep going out there and fight every night and play hard.”

“The season is starting to pick up and teams are playing more aggressive especially with the veteran teams that are coming in, and that is why we need to keep fighting. It isn’t about coming out and giving up, we are coming out and still playing hard. We were down 30 and we were still fighting and playing hard. That is a good sign for a young team. All you can do is keep playing, that is all you can do and keep fighting.”

On the Phoenix Suns’ play tonight
“They have been together for a while and they have one of the best point guards in the league in Steve Nash. They have veteran leadership in Grant Hill and Jason Richardson. They are just a veteran team. For us, we are just not hitting shots and they were hitting everything. It was just one of those nights.”

“To see how far I have come from the summer time and feeling like coach hated me. To now, I am playing hard. He is giving me praises and it is definitely big for me. I am just trying to keep going.”

Spencer Hawes

“I think that we improved tonight. There were a lot of times tonight where we made the right rotations. It wasn’t like we made them too late or when we were foul trouble. I am not sure how many free throws they ended up shooting, but with a team like that you can do everything right and they can still beat you. They just play basketball the right way.”

On the team this year
“I think that this group that we have here is resilient. We look at every game as a new opportunity and a new chance to get back on track. That is how is has to be or else it will start to feel like last year.”

On Kevin Martin’s play lately
“It is just a matter of time before he gets back into his rhythm and adjusts to a bit of a new system. He wasn’t a 20-plus scorer in the league for the last few years for no reason. He is more than capable. He is just having some tough bounces.”

Kevin Martin
“It just wasn’t me out there. I have been here for five years and I just don’t feel the same out there. I just can’t put a finger on it. I have never been in a situation like this before.”

“I feel fine physically, mentally? No.”

Phoenix Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry

On being happy to get the win against the Kings

“It was a good win for us. Anytime you get a win on the road is a good win. They have been playing good basketball. The only problem they have had is they haven’t been able to win close games. They have probably lost more close games than anyone this season.”

On how they won
“It helped with Tyreke (Evans) getting in foul trouble early. He couldn’t play as aggressive as he usually does. I thought we were really efficient offensively in what we were doing. I thought we got the ball to the right people. Steve (Nash) got off to a great start and seems to be real aggressive against these guys. I wish he would be that way even more so sometimes. His shot was there and he got us off to a great start.”

On his team’s defensive play
“I thought we did a good job defensively. We had some breakdowns later on from a dribble penetration standpoint, but I thought, for the most part, that we did a very good job against them.”

On what stood out to him
“I just thought we did a really good job of staying aggressive. More so than anything, I thought we did a great job of defending. We had them under 40 percent most of the first half and we limited their second shots. Then I thought we came down and executed and got some big hoops. Even when they made their little run back at us, I thought we always came up with a basket that kind of stopped their run and kept a substantial lead. Other than the Denver game the other night, it is probably the most complete game we have played.”

Phoenix Suns Guard Steve Nash

On building some momentum as a team
“Yeah we are getting some momentum, but I think we are consistent. We are playing a little harder and a little sharper mentally, and our focus is better. It has given us confidence to stay with it. Before, I think we overanalyzed and thought too much. Sometimes, you make up for your mistakes by playing hard and being competitive. I think we have seen a better streak of that.”

On the Kings’ rally efforts
“They got it down to 10, and then I think we went on a 22-3 run. It was a solid performance, but there were stretches we let them back and we did job of turning it on against them. Overall I think we did a great job.”

On having fun during times like this
“It is fun. It is hard work. It is difficult to win games, but it pays off, you know, and is a lot of fun. Especially on nights like tonight when you get up and go on a 22-3 run on the road at the end of a trip. It is rewarding.”

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