http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14229614p-15052701c.html
Eight sounds great to Kings
They beat Mavericks, move into playoff spot
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, March 13, 2006
Days before Dallas came to town, Brad Miller was one of the few Kings players who wasn't taking part in the daily scoreboard watching that comes with the pre-playoff season.
At least as it pertained to the Lakers.
"It don't matter," he said in Washington. "We're going to catch New Orleans anyway."
That, for the love of leapfrogging, was just five days ago. And after felling their biggest giant of the season Sunday night at Arco Arena in an 85-80 victory over the Mavericks, the Kings have indeed caught the Hornets.
With time to spare.
Their return to the land of relevant was supposed to be long and arduous, a race against opponents and the clock as they clawed their way out of a self-dug hole. Yet with 19 games remaining, and aided by Lakers and Hornets losses, the Kings sit proudly in eighth place, one-half game behind Los Angeles.
And the award for dramatic timing goes to ... the Kings, who happen to be hosting the Lakers on Tuesday.
Once the suspense and drama against the Mavericks ended - with a flurry of late scoring by Kenny Thomas and Dallas coach Avery Johnson nowhere to be found on the floor after being ejected - the table was set for the matchup against the Lakers.
This morning's Los Angeles scouting reports will show a Kings victory, their 12th in a row at home, over a team that had won 26 of 30 games coming in.
"It was a judgment game," said point guard Mike Bibby, who scored 12 points as the Kings had five players in double figures between 10 and 17 points. "It was a game that we both wanted, but we needed more."
With so many known late-game assassins on the floor, crunch time was dominated by the lesser-knowns -Dallas' Jason Terry and the Kings' Thomas. Terry's 20-footer with 2:58 remaining cut the Kings' lead to 76-74, and he sank a three-pointer with 1:18 left to again cut the lead to two.
With the Mavericks honing in on everyone but Thomas, his wide-open 19-footer with 56 seconds left bounced four times before crawling in, and was followed by a hard drive and three-point play from Terry. When Thomas was left open again with 29 seconds left, his 18-footer was true, putting the Kings ahead 83-80.
After Terry missed a three-pointer, Thomas grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws to put it away. The Kings had survived their own charity from the charity stripe, having missed 6 of their first 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, included two by Bonzi Wells with 17 seconds left. Thomas, who had four points until the final stretch, finished with 10 points.
The Mavericks shot 6 for 20 in the fourth quarter and 36.4 percent for the game, scoring just two more points than their season low. Nowitzki had a game-high 24 points, and guard Marquis Daniels had 19.
"I thought our guys battled, but we seemed to stumble a little bit," said Johnson, who was ejected in the third quarter. "It is a disappointing loss."
At the end of the first half, the Kings walked off the floor disappointed despite a 52-43 lead. A buzzer-beating Nowitzki three-pointer left the door open for a comeback, which continued when Dallas started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 52-51. The Kings hit just 3 of 20 shots in the third quarter and scored 11 points. It wasn't enough to keep Johnson happy, though.
When Terry was called for a foul on Miller, Nowitzki and Johnson argued vehemently. Official Gary Zielinski called a technical foul on Johnson, who stormed some 90 feet toward Zielinski just in time to get the heave.
"I wasn't trying to rally the team by getting ejected," Johnson said. "It was more just a difference of opinion."
The Kings, meanwhile, have their own stance to worry about.
"(Being in playoff position) hasn't really sunk in yet, but we've got to enjoy this one tonight," Miller said. "We'll enjoy the fact that we've kind of climbed one little step."
There was nothing little about it.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Eight sounds great to Kings
They beat Mavericks, move into playoff spot
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, March 13, 2006
Days before Dallas came to town, Brad Miller was one of the few Kings players who wasn't taking part in the daily scoreboard watching that comes with the pre-playoff season.
At least as it pertained to the Lakers.
"It don't matter," he said in Washington. "We're going to catch New Orleans anyway."
That, for the love of leapfrogging, was just five days ago. And after felling their biggest giant of the season Sunday night at Arco Arena in an 85-80 victory over the Mavericks, the Kings have indeed caught the Hornets.
With time to spare.
Their return to the land of relevant was supposed to be long and arduous, a race against opponents and the clock as they clawed their way out of a self-dug hole. Yet with 19 games remaining, and aided by Lakers and Hornets losses, the Kings sit proudly in eighth place, one-half game behind Los Angeles.
And the award for dramatic timing goes to ... the Kings, who happen to be hosting the Lakers on Tuesday.
Once the suspense and drama against the Mavericks ended - with a flurry of late scoring by Kenny Thomas and Dallas coach Avery Johnson nowhere to be found on the floor after being ejected - the table was set for the matchup against the Lakers.
This morning's Los Angeles scouting reports will show a Kings victory, their 12th in a row at home, over a team that had won 26 of 30 games coming in.
"It was a judgment game," said point guard Mike Bibby, who scored 12 points as the Kings had five players in double figures between 10 and 17 points. "It was a game that we both wanted, but we needed more."
With so many known late-game assassins on the floor, crunch time was dominated by the lesser-knowns -Dallas' Jason Terry and the Kings' Thomas. Terry's 20-footer with 2:58 remaining cut the Kings' lead to 76-74, and he sank a three-pointer with 1:18 left to again cut the lead to two.
With the Mavericks honing in on everyone but Thomas, his wide-open 19-footer with 56 seconds left bounced four times before crawling in, and was followed by a hard drive and three-point play from Terry. When Thomas was left open again with 29 seconds left, his 18-footer was true, putting the Kings ahead 83-80.
After Terry missed a three-pointer, Thomas grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws to put it away. The Kings had survived their own charity from the charity stripe, having missed 6 of their first 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, included two by Bonzi Wells with 17 seconds left. Thomas, who had four points until the final stretch, finished with 10 points.
The Mavericks shot 6 for 20 in the fourth quarter and 36.4 percent for the game, scoring just two more points than their season low. Nowitzki had a game-high 24 points, and guard Marquis Daniels had 19.
"I thought our guys battled, but we seemed to stumble a little bit," said Johnson, who was ejected in the third quarter. "It is a disappointing loss."
At the end of the first half, the Kings walked off the floor disappointed despite a 52-43 lead. A buzzer-beating Nowitzki three-pointer left the door open for a comeback, which continued when Dallas started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 52-51. The Kings hit just 3 of 20 shots in the third quarter and scored 11 points. It wasn't enough to keep Johnson happy, though.
When Terry was called for a foul on Miller, Nowitzki and Johnson argued vehemently. Official Gary Zielinski called a technical foul on Johnson, who stormed some 90 feet toward Zielinski just in time to get the heave.
"I wasn't trying to rally the team by getting ejected," Johnson said. "It was more just a difference of opinion."
The Kings, meanwhile, have their own stance to worry about.
"(Being in playoff position) hasn't really sunk in yet, but we've got to enjoy this one tonight," Miller said. "We'll enjoy the fact that we've kind of climbed one little step."
There was nothing little about it.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
