http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/101390.html
Kings notes: Reserves come through in victory
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, January 1, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C3
It was, to a certain extent, an aberration.
Starting forward Kenny Thomas won't always be sick. Incumbent small forward Ron Artest won't always be benched for so long. The Kings, who routed the Warriors 119-96 Saturday night at Arco Arena, won't always need to go small as a means of keeping the pace.
But when the team's reserves scored a season-high 61 bench points against the Warriors, it was, without a doubt, a welcome plot twist for coach Eric Musselman and his crew. To date, the only big-time bench nights had come in the other kind of blowouts -- a 109-90 loss at Dallas on Dec. 1 (55 bench points) and a 127-102 loss at Phoenix on Dec. 5 (51 bench points). Before facing the Warriors, the Kings' reserves had averaged 28.7 points.
"I thought our bench did a phenomenal job," said Musselman, who notched his first win as a head coach over the Warriors, the team he coached from 2002 to 2004. "With (Thomas) not being able to play (because of illness), our bench did a hell of a job."
Rookie Quincy Douby scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the second quarter, leading the Kings' best first half of the season.
"It's definitely a confidence builder," Douby said. "It just shows that I belong and can play with these guys. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing."
Second-year swingman Francisco García posted season highs in minutes (34), points (13), and rebounds (seven) while tying his season highs in blocks (four) and steals (two).
From bench to benched -- Musselman credited the lack of minutes for Artest to matchups and flow, but his 12 minutes against the Warriors were a season low. Artest was held scoreless for the first time this season. His previous low in minutes was 22 against Portland on Nov. 25, when he had three points in a Kings win.
Since returning from his knee injury Wednesday against Philadelphia, Artest is 6 for 25 from the field and 0 for 8 from three-point range. He also has just four steals over three games, though he continues to lead the league in that category (2.32 per game).
Meanwhile, reported trade talks between the Kings and Clippers about a deal sending Artest to Los Angeles for swingman Corey Maggette are officially dead.
"We're no longer talking to Sacramento about Artest," Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor told the Los Angeles Times. "That's not going to happen."
Martin method -- If Kevin Martin were a car, he easily would qualify as a high-end hybrid.
The ever-efficient scorer had 25 points against the Warriors on just 11 shots. It was the most Martin has scored this season on 11 or fewer shots. He had 20 points on 11 shots against San Antonio on Nov. 19. Entering Sunday, he ranked 17th in the league in scoring (21.6 per game) and has averaged fewer field-goal attempts (13.5 per game) than any player ranked in the top 28 in scoring.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
Kings notes: Reserves come through in victory
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Monday, January 1, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C3
It was, to a certain extent, an aberration.
Starting forward Kenny Thomas won't always be sick. Incumbent small forward Ron Artest won't always be benched for so long. The Kings, who routed the Warriors 119-96 Saturday night at Arco Arena, won't always need to go small as a means of keeping the pace.
But when the team's reserves scored a season-high 61 bench points against the Warriors, it was, without a doubt, a welcome plot twist for coach Eric Musselman and his crew. To date, the only big-time bench nights had come in the other kind of blowouts -- a 109-90 loss at Dallas on Dec. 1 (55 bench points) and a 127-102 loss at Phoenix on Dec. 5 (51 bench points). Before facing the Warriors, the Kings' reserves had averaged 28.7 points.
"I thought our bench did a phenomenal job," said Musselman, who notched his first win as a head coach over the Warriors, the team he coached from 2002 to 2004. "With (Thomas) not being able to play (because of illness), our bench did a hell of a job."
Rookie Quincy Douby scored 16 of his career-high 21 points in the second quarter, leading the Kings' best first half of the season.
"It's definitely a confidence builder," Douby said. "It just shows that I belong and can play with these guys. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing."
Second-year swingman Francisco García posted season highs in minutes (34), points (13), and rebounds (seven) while tying his season highs in blocks (four) and steals (two).
From bench to benched -- Musselman credited the lack of minutes for Artest to matchups and flow, but his 12 minutes against the Warriors were a season low. Artest was held scoreless for the first time this season. His previous low in minutes was 22 against Portland on Nov. 25, when he had three points in a Kings win.
Since returning from his knee injury Wednesday against Philadelphia, Artest is 6 for 25 from the field and 0 for 8 from three-point range. He also has just four steals over three games, though he continues to lead the league in that category (2.32 per game).
Meanwhile, reported trade talks between the Kings and Clippers about a deal sending Artest to Los Angeles for swingman Corey Maggette are officially dead.
"We're no longer talking to Sacramento about Artest," Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor told the Los Angeles Times. "That's not going to happen."
Martin method -- If Kevin Martin were a car, he easily would qualify as a high-end hybrid.
The ever-efficient scorer had 25 points against the Warriors on just 11 shots. It was the most Martin has scored this season on 11 or fewer shots. He had 20 points on 11 shots against San Antonio on Nov. 19. Entering Sunday, he ranked 17th in the league in scoring (21.6 per game) and has averaged fewer field-goal attempts (13.5 per game) than any player ranked in the top 28 in scoring.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@ sacbee.com.
