http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14227919p-15051479c.html
Kings ace climactic road test
They find high gear on offense, zoom into the playoff picture
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, March 9, 2006
MILWAUKEE - In the immortal words of Wayne Campbell from the movie "Wayne's World" ... Game on.
Playoff race on.
The Kings, 61 games into this two-part drama (pre-and post-Ron Artest) and perhaps just the nick of time, are cohesively and collectively ... On.
They deserved the capital "O" on Wednesday night by capitalizing on the kicker of their vital five-game road trip, winning 123-116 over Milwaukee in a whirling-dervish style that showed they can get it done in different ways on different nights.
That's four wins in five tries on the make-or-break journey east that could have ended with Kings players heading for their laptops to make vacation plans, or at least getting close to it.
"We're trying to put together a little string, maybe nine out of 10 or nine out of 11 games, to see what we can do and make a run for the playoffs," Kings guard Mike Bibby said. "We're right there."
The Kings are in the eye of the Western Conference storm, tied for ninth place and one of four teams separated by 1 1/2 games, with Houston just 1 1/2 games behind the Kings and Utah.
"Now is the time when we really need (to win on the road), and we're doing what we need to do," said forward Kenny Thomas, who had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. "If we would've had this energy at the beginning of this season, things would be different. But we're doing it now."
They did it in a much different way than the many recent defensive displays, as the Kings won with an offensive style reminiscent of days of old.
"A team that passes the ball and (uses back-door passes) can get you in rotations," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "They can get you in situations that can make you look bad."
Which they did.
The Kings scored 69 first-half points, their most in a half this season and partly the result of a second consecutive sizzling start for Bibby, who scored 17 of his 36 points as they led 69-57 at halftime.
They survived a 54.1 percent shooting night for the Bucks. The always-dangerous Michael Redd had 32 points, hitting many of his 13 shots while being guarded by Artest.
Milwaukee point guard T.J. Ford had a season-high 24 points and 10 assists, and forward Bobby Simmons had 21 points and hit 5 of 7 three-point attempts.
The Kings neared a season high in assists (33) with 31, scoring at least 33 points in all but the third quarter while coming one point shy of having all seven who played score in double figures.
Shooting guard Kevin Martin - whose playing time shrunk when he struggled trying to guard Redd - had eight first-quarter points on numerous back-door cuts and finishing with 16 points in 23 minutes.
Bonzi Wells had his best game since returning from his groin injury, scoring 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench.
Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 14 points off the bench, hitting 7 of 9 shots.
"Give them credit," Redd said. "They execute very well. They put you in tough predicaments and tough situations."
Coach Rick Adelman said time spent practicing alongside Artest has only made the offense more fluid.
"We're getting more comfortable, shooting the ball well, guys are looking for each other," Adelman said.
"If we pass the ball, we're going to find open people. I just felt they were going to have a hard time guarding us, and that happened."
The Kings answered every threat posed by the Bucks.
When an alley-oop dunk from Bucks forward Dan Gadzuric cut a lead that was once 15 points to eight in the fourth quarter and brought the 14,024 fans at the Bradley Center to their feet, Abdur-Rahim snuck under the rim on the other end for a reverse dunk to calm the crowd.
When a Simmons three-pointer narrowed the edge to 10 points, Bibby hit one of his own just moments later.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Kings ace climactic road test
They find high gear on offense, zoom into the playoff picture
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, March 9, 2006
MILWAUKEE - In the immortal words of Wayne Campbell from the movie "Wayne's World" ... Game on.
Playoff race on.
The Kings, 61 games into this two-part drama (pre-and post-Ron Artest) and perhaps just the nick of time, are cohesively and collectively ... On.
They deserved the capital "O" on Wednesday night by capitalizing on the kicker of their vital five-game road trip, winning 123-116 over Milwaukee in a whirling-dervish style that showed they can get it done in different ways on different nights.
That's four wins in five tries on the make-or-break journey east that could have ended with Kings players heading for their laptops to make vacation plans, or at least getting close to it.
"We're trying to put together a little string, maybe nine out of 10 or nine out of 11 games, to see what we can do and make a run for the playoffs," Kings guard Mike Bibby said. "We're right there."
The Kings are in the eye of the Western Conference storm, tied for ninth place and one of four teams separated by 1 1/2 games, with Houston just 1 1/2 games behind the Kings and Utah.
"Now is the time when we really need (to win on the road), and we're doing what we need to do," said forward Kenny Thomas, who had 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. "If we would've had this energy at the beginning of this season, things would be different. But we're doing it now."
They did it in a much different way than the many recent defensive displays, as the Kings won with an offensive style reminiscent of days of old.
"A team that passes the ball and (uses back-door passes) can get you in rotations," Bucks coach Terry Stotts said. "They can get you in situations that can make you look bad."
Which they did.
The Kings scored 69 first-half points, their most in a half this season and partly the result of a second consecutive sizzling start for Bibby, who scored 17 of his 36 points as they led 69-57 at halftime.
They survived a 54.1 percent shooting night for the Bucks. The always-dangerous Michael Redd had 32 points, hitting many of his 13 shots while being guarded by Artest.
Milwaukee point guard T.J. Ford had a season-high 24 points and 10 assists, and forward Bobby Simmons had 21 points and hit 5 of 7 three-point attempts.
The Kings neared a season high in assists (33) with 31, scoring at least 33 points in all but the third quarter while coming one point shy of having all seven who played score in double figures.
Shooting guard Kevin Martin - whose playing time shrunk when he struggled trying to guard Redd - had eight first-quarter points on numerous back-door cuts and finishing with 16 points in 23 minutes.
Bonzi Wells had his best game since returning from his groin injury, scoring 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench.
Forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 14 points off the bench, hitting 7 of 9 shots.
"Give them credit," Redd said. "They execute very well. They put you in tough predicaments and tough situations."
Coach Rick Adelman said time spent practicing alongside Artest has only made the offense more fluid.
"We're getting more comfortable, shooting the ball well, guys are looking for each other," Adelman said.
"If we pass the ball, we're going to find open people. I just felt they were going to have a hard time guarding us, and that happened."
The Kings answered every threat posed by the Bucks.
When an alley-oop dunk from Bucks forward Dan Gadzuric cut a lead that was once 15 points to eight in the fourth quarter and brought the 14,024 fans at the Bradley Center to their feet, Abdur-Rahim snuck under the rim on the other end for a reverse dunk to calm the crowd.
When a Simmons three-pointer narrowed the edge to 10 points, Bibby hit one of his own just moments later.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
