http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14244003p-15062651c.html
Kings defeat Nuggets; magic number is one
They slow the pace on the league's fastest-running team - and win by 18.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 16, 2006
DENVER - Maybe it was the national anthem.
A short time before the Kings and Denver Nuggets faced off, a young woman gave a respectable rendition that seemed to last as long as a short NBA quarter.
Then a timely thing happened for the Kings. In their season-long run for the playoffs, they slowed the pace on the league's fastest-running team, executing on the pregame plan of just about every team that enters the Mile High City as a means to a 100-82 win at the Pepsi Center that dropped their magic number to one.
The Kings' backs, for those clenching their purple towels back home, are no longer flush against the wall, as they have a 1 1/2-game lead on ninth-place Utah. A win today against the New Orleans Hornets would clinch a playoff berth.
The Nuggets - who average a league-high 24.1 fast-break points at home - had 19 overall but none in the second quarter and just five in the fourth. It helped that run-and-gun point guard Earl Boykins was out with a broken left hand.
"I thought we really controlled the tempo of the game, and that's what we wanted to do," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "There were just a couple times - the start of the third quarter - when we seemed a little lax, but other than that we really played well."
Ah, the third quarter. It was one game ago when much was made of Ron Artest calling a timeout in the fourth quarter against Phoenix on Tuesday with the game slipping away. Adelman reclaimed the duty with aplomb with 10:26 left in the third, when his halftime speech about maintaining focus - and the lead - was answered with two quick Nuggets baskets and the Kings' 52-45 halftime lead was trimmed. Adelman yelled toward his squad, threw his arm in disgust and stopped play. Two minutes later, the Kings led 62-51.
"I couldn't tell (what he said)," Kings guard Kevin Martin said. "It seemed like he was speaking another language because he was yelling so hard at them. That kind of got me fired up. And this time, it was the vets (getting yelled at) and not me, so I enjoyed that."
Carmelo Anthony enjoyed little about the affair. The Nuggets' long-shot MVP candidate was held to 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Artest spent most of the evening locking him down, while Bonzi Wells also was effective.
Conversely, Kings forward Kenny Thomas had little resistance en route to scoring 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds. Point guard Mike Bibby had 18 of his 23 points in the first half and 10 assists, while Martin and Shareef Abdur-Rahim combined for 30 points off the bench.
The Kings avoided potential distraction, too, when Nuggets guard Ruben Patterson seemed intent on brawling someone in purple.
On a Nuggets fast break, Patterson shoved Thomas behind the hoop, and the two went around in a "Push me again like that!" and "What are you going to do?" cycle. Earlier, Patterson had banged on Artest illegally before and after the whistle, with Artest ignoring him and offering a handshake.
"Wow," Artest said. "If it was early in the season, we could fight. I can't fight right now. We're trying to get in the playoffs."
Patterson's temper tantrum all came after Kings center Brad Miller inadvertently floored Nuggets guard Greg Buckner with an elbow to the nose in the third quarter. Or perhaps it wasn't so inadvertent, as Buckner had been treating Martin like a punching bag all night.
It was, for the Kings, a welcome sign in the first half that they had 24 points in the paint (48 total) against a team boasting league-leading shot-blocker Marcus Camby. It wasn't, however, as if the Northwest Division champion Nuggets had nothing to fight for, as they still have home-court advantage on the line. But down 82-63 entering the fourth quarter, coach George Karl benched Anthony and point guard Andre Miller for the final 12 minutes.
"Happy Easter," Karl said to the local media. "Write whatever you guys want to write, and they deserve it."
And the Kings, who Adelman said may not deserve a playoff berth if they couldn't win two of their final three games, have one to go.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Kings defeat Nuggets; magic number is one
They slow the pace on the league's fastest-running team - and win by 18.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 16, 2006
DENVER - Maybe it was the national anthem.
A short time before the Kings and Denver Nuggets faced off, a young woman gave a respectable rendition that seemed to last as long as a short NBA quarter.
Then a timely thing happened for the Kings. In their season-long run for the playoffs, they slowed the pace on the league's fastest-running team, executing on the pregame plan of just about every team that enters the Mile High City as a means to a 100-82 win at the Pepsi Center that dropped their magic number to one.
The Kings' backs, for those clenching their purple towels back home, are no longer flush against the wall, as they have a 1 1/2-game lead on ninth-place Utah. A win today against the New Orleans Hornets would clinch a playoff berth.
The Nuggets - who average a league-high 24.1 fast-break points at home - had 19 overall but none in the second quarter and just five in the fourth. It helped that run-and-gun point guard Earl Boykins was out with a broken left hand.
"I thought we really controlled the tempo of the game, and that's what we wanted to do," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "There were just a couple times - the start of the third quarter - when we seemed a little lax, but other than that we really played well."
Ah, the third quarter. It was one game ago when much was made of Ron Artest calling a timeout in the fourth quarter against Phoenix on Tuesday with the game slipping away. Adelman reclaimed the duty with aplomb with 10:26 left in the third, when his halftime speech about maintaining focus - and the lead - was answered with two quick Nuggets baskets and the Kings' 52-45 halftime lead was trimmed. Adelman yelled toward his squad, threw his arm in disgust and stopped play. Two minutes later, the Kings led 62-51.
"I couldn't tell (what he said)," Kings guard Kevin Martin said. "It seemed like he was speaking another language because he was yelling so hard at them. That kind of got me fired up. And this time, it was the vets (getting yelled at) and not me, so I enjoyed that."
Carmelo Anthony enjoyed little about the affair. The Nuggets' long-shot MVP candidate was held to 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Artest spent most of the evening locking him down, while Bonzi Wells also was effective.
Conversely, Kings forward Kenny Thomas had little resistance en route to scoring 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds. Point guard Mike Bibby had 18 of his 23 points in the first half and 10 assists, while Martin and Shareef Abdur-Rahim combined for 30 points off the bench.
The Kings avoided potential distraction, too, when Nuggets guard Ruben Patterson seemed intent on brawling someone in purple.
On a Nuggets fast break, Patterson shoved Thomas behind the hoop, and the two went around in a "Push me again like that!" and "What are you going to do?" cycle. Earlier, Patterson had banged on Artest illegally before and after the whistle, with Artest ignoring him and offering a handshake.
"Wow," Artest said. "If it was early in the season, we could fight. I can't fight right now. We're trying to get in the playoffs."
Patterson's temper tantrum all came after Kings center Brad Miller inadvertently floored Nuggets guard Greg Buckner with an elbow to the nose in the third quarter. Or perhaps it wasn't so inadvertent, as Buckner had been treating Martin like a punching bag all night.
It was, for the Kings, a welcome sign in the first half that they had 24 points in the paint (48 total) against a team boasting league-leading shot-blocker Marcus Camby. It wasn't, however, as if the Northwest Division champion Nuggets had nothing to fight for, as they still have home-court advantage on the line. But down 82-63 entering the fourth quarter, coach George Karl benched Anthony and point guard Andre Miller for the final 12 minutes.
"Happy Easter," Karl said to the local media. "Write whatever you guys want to write, and they deserve it."
And the Kings, who Adelman said may not deserve a playoff berth if they couldn't win two of their final three games, have one to go.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
