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Bibby blistering down the stretch
The Kings point guard finds his touch at just the right time in a win over Utah.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:12 am PST Saturday, December 16, 2006
Mike Bibby was feeling it.
Not just his shot, which was plenty newsworthy on its own, but everything that came with extended struggles ending. Frustration, finally, replaced by celebration.
And as he ran off the EnergySolutions Arena floor Friday night, the Kings having pulled off a shocker in which they rode a classic Bibby hot streak to a 98-97 win after trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, there was happiness and defiance all in one. He pointed at a fan who had heckled him on his way out, then did his own heckling of sorts when anyone acted as if his crucial scoring spurt late was, well, exactly what it was in this toughest of seasons for him. A rarity.
"You act like I never hit shots before," said Bibby, whose shooting woes this season have him at career-low levels from the field and three-point range. "I can shoot a little bit, I think. I'm surprised as much as you are (at the low shooting percentage). ... Even machines break down."
When Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin offered encouragement from across the locker room, saying, "Yeah, Mike, stroking that shot," Bibby shot back, "Kev, don't be acting like the media."
Martin was right, though. The Kings had jumped on Bibby's back at the end, using his stretch of seven points in 1 minute, 26 seconds late in the fourth quarter to not only beat the league's best team to date and secure just their third road win, but to break the Jazz's NBA-long streak of 34 consecutive wins when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. And don't forget the revenge factor, this being the team that rallied from 21 points down at Arco Arena on Nov. 22 in the Kings' most painful loss this season.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim hit the game-winner, a three-pointer from the left corner with 59 seconds left, and limited a mini-controversy. It was Abdur-Rahim's first three-pointer of the season and a bailout of sorts when Ron Artest seemed to have dribbled himself into trouble down low.
While three NBA scouts watching the game muttered to each other, "Bibby's hot, get him the ball!" -- having seen his capability for catching fire so many times before -- Artest went another direction. Bibby said he was looking for the ball on the play.
Said Artest: "I was trying to score, but they came and helped (on defense), so I passed."
After starting 2 for 9 from the field, Bibby was 5 for 15 when his jumper finally looked right. He hit a 21-footer with 2:58 left to cut the lead to 95-88, then cut off Andrei Kirilenko in the lane at the other end for a charge that sent Bibby sprawling on the floor. A rare sequence of ball movement might have jarred Bibby's memory of his old self, when he passed from the top to Artest on the wing and the small forward quickly found Brad Miller down low for a layup to cut the Jazz lead to 95-90.
On the next possession, Bibby drove the lane, was hit hard and flipped the ball with his left hand in time for a layup and subsequent free throw. After a Carlos Boozer basket put the lead back at four points, Bibby hit a 20-footer just before Abdur-Rahim's three.
Abdur-Rahim followed his shot up by containing Boozer, who missed his attempt in the post. The teams traded misses from there -- Utah's Derek Fisher and Deron Williams both missed three-point attempts, and in between, Martin missed an open 20-footer with 18 seconds left.
Bibby finished with 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting, with his seven points helping the Kings in a 13-point third quarter that ended with them trailing 77-66.
"That's him," Kings swingman Francisco García said of Bibby. "That's him at his best. ... Everybody knows he can only get better. He's one of the best shooters in the NBA."
The Kings ended the game on a 15-2 run, as the Jazz missed six of its last seven shots and had seven fourth-quarter turnovers. Abdur-Rahim was the anti-King for the night, hitting 6 of 8 shots for 21 points, but the team shot a dismal 40.5 percent (32 for 79).
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
Bibby blistering down the stretch
The Kings point guard finds his touch at just the right time in a win over Utah.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 1:12 am PST Saturday, December 16, 2006
Mike Bibby was feeling it.
Not just his shot, which was plenty newsworthy on its own, but everything that came with extended struggles ending. Frustration, finally, replaced by celebration.
And as he ran off the EnergySolutions Arena floor Friday night, the Kings having pulled off a shocker in which they rode a classic Bibby hot streak to a 98-97 win after trailing by 16 points in the fourth quarter, there was happiness and defiance all in one. He pointed at a fan who had heckled him on his way out, then did his own heckling of sorts when anyone acted as if his crucial scoring spurt late was, well, exactly what it was in this toughest of seasons for him. A rarity.
"You act like I never hit shots before," said Bibby, whose shooting woes this season have him at career-low levels from the field and three-point range. "I can shoot a little bit, I think. I'm surprised as much as you are (at the low shooting percentage). ... Even machines break down."
When Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin offered encouragement from across the locker room, saying, "Yeah, Mike, stroking that shot," Bibby shot back, "Kev, don't be acting like the media."
Martin was right, though. The Kings had jumped on Bibby's back at the end, using his stretch of seven points in 1 minute, 26 seconds late in the fourth quarter to not only beat the league's best team to date and secure just their third road win, but to break the Jazz's NBA-long streak of 34 consecutive wins when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. And don't forget the revenge factor, this being the team that rallied from 21 points down at Arco Arena on Nov. 22 in the Kings' most painful loss this season.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim hit the game-winner, a three-pointer from the left corner with 59 seconds left, and limited a mini-controversy. It was Abdur-Rahim's first three-pointer of the season and a bailout of sorts when Ron Artest seemed to have dribbled himself into trouble down low.
While three NBA scouts watching the game muttered to each other, "Bibby's hot, get him the ball!" -- having seen his capability for catching fire so many times before -- Artest went another direction. Bibby said he was looking for the ball on the play.
Said Artest: "I was trying to score, but they came and helped (on defense), so I passed."
After starting 2 for 9 from the field, Bibby was 5 for 15 when his jumper finally looked right. He hit a 21-footer with 2:58 left to cut the lead to 95-88, then cut off Andrei Kirilenko in the lane at the other end for a charge that sent Bibby sprawling on the floor. A rare sequence of ball movement might have jarred Bibby's memory of his old self, when he passed from the top to Artest on the wing and the small forward quickly found Brad Miller down low for a layup to cut the Jazz lead to 95-90.
On the next possession, Bibby drove the lane, was hit hard and flipped the ball with his left hand in time for a layup and subsequent free throw. After a Carlos Boozer basket put the lead back at four points, Bibby hit a 20-footer just before Abdur-Rahim's three.
Abdur-Rahim followed his shot up by containing Boozer, who missed his attempt in the post. The teams traded misses from there -- Utah's Derek Fisher and Deron Williams both missed three-point attempts, and in between, Martin missed an open 20-footer with 18 seconds left.
Bibby finished with 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting, with his seven points helping the Kings in a 13-point third quarter that ended with them trailing 77-66.
"That's him," Kings swingman Francisco García said of Bibby. "That's him at his best. ... Everybody knows he can only get better. He's one of the best shooters in the NBA."
The Kings ended the game on a 15-2 run, as the Jazz missed six of its last seven shots and had seven fourth-quarter turnovers. Abdur-Rahim was the anti-King for the night, hitting 6 of 8 shots for 21 points, but the team shot a dismal 40.5 percent (32 for 79).
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
