http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/114552.html
Kings' way goes astray
A four-game road trip begins with shooting woes in the second half of a loss to the Hornets.
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:45 am PST Saturday, January 27, 2007
Their ambulance-chasing ways came to an end Friday night, when the Kings got another opponent with a roster mangled by injury and, for a change, couldn't capitalize.
So they chased the referees with words, insistent that a clutch shot in the final seconds inside New Orleans Arena should have been disallowed as a 24-second shot clock violation.
And they chased after their own missed shots, of which there were a lot.
The Kings lost to the short-handed New Orleans Hornets 88-84, but mostly just lost their way, scoring 10 points in the third quarter and making 36.4 percent of their field goals in all to kick away what should have been the easy portion of their current four-game trip. On the bright side, there's Dallas tonight and the possible reminder of what hurting really is.
This was bad enough. The Kings scored two fewer points in the third period Friday than in any other quarter of the season and they shot worse in the same stumbling 12 minutes (12.5 percent) than in any other quarter. They were at least saved from the additional indignity of the poorest overall outing from the field, shooting better than the 34.8 percent at Minnesota on opening night.
"That's going to be very difficult to win on an opposing team's home court if you can't score more than 10 points in a quarter," forward Corliss Williamson said.
And still they could have, in what would have given the Kings another chance to feel good about outlasting the downtrodden -- just like they did in coming from 20 points down to beat New Jersey, down two starters, Monday at Arco Arena. And in beating Milwaukee without star Michael Redd on Wednesday, and in beating Boston minus Paul Pierce on Jan. 19.
The three wins in the four games prior to Friday had all come against opponents missing either their best player (Pierce, Redd) or two starters (the Nets) and all had been by eight points or less. New Orleans fit. The Hornets, visitors to their own city, are probably weeks away from getting reigning Rookie of the Year Chris Paul back again and maybe a season away from getting Peja Stojakovic back, and then it even turned into a close game.
The Kings had overcome the disaster flick of a third quarter, another benefit of the wounded opponent, and trailed 84-82 heading into the final minute. On the next New Orleans possession, Ron Artest stole the ball from David West. The time after that, the Sacramento defense stepped up again, denying the Hornets an attempt as the shot clock ran down.
It was all the way down to one when Devin Brown launched a three-pointer from the right side. At least that's what the referees said. When the shot went in with 11.3 seconds remaining, the Kings demanded otherwise, smacking their hands on the tops of their heads on the sideline to plead for a 24-second violation.
It didn't come. They could have had the ball with about 11 seconds remaining and a two-point deficit. Instead, it was 87-82, and it was all but over.
"We had to play defense for 25 seconds on that one possession," center Brad Miller said.
If the night had importance for the Kings as the start of their trip, it had value for the Hornets beyond the standings as one of six games that will be played in New Orleans before the return becomes full-time next season. By that measure, it was a bad outcome, with the upper deck half-filled at best and countless empty blocks in the lower bowl as part of the announced crowd of 16,607 in a building with a listed capacity of 19,163.
It was also the first Kings appearance since Jan. 8, 2005. Since then, the teams have met in Oklahoma City and Norman, Okla., in the NBA version of fallout from Hurricane Katrina, making this the third new location in as many Sacramento road games in the series.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
Kings' way goes astray
A four-game road trip begins with shooting woes in the second half of a loss to the Hornets.
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:45 am PST Saturday, January 27, 2007
Their ambulance-chasing ways came to an end Friday night, when the Kings got another opponent with a roster mangled by injury and, for a change, couldn't capitalize.
So they chased the referees with words, insistent that a clutch shot in the final seconds inside New Orleans Arena should have been disallowed as a 24-second shot clock violation.
And they chased after their own missed shots, of which there were a lot.
The Kings lost to the short-handed New Orleans Hornets 88-84, but mostly just lost their way, scoring 10 points in the third quarter and making 36.4 percent of their field goals in all to kick away what should have been the easy portion of their current four-game trip. On the bright side, there's Dallas tonight and the possible reminder of what hurting really is.
This was bad enough. The Kings scored two fewer points in the third period Friday than in any other quarter of the season and they shot worse in the same stumbling 12 minutes (12.5 percent) than in any other quarter. They were at least saved from the additional indignity of the poorest overall outing from the field, shooting better than the 34.8 percent at Minnesota on opening night.
"That's going to be very difficult to win on an opposing team's home court if you can't score more than 10 points in a quarter," forward Corliss Williamson said.
And still they could have, in what would have given the Kings another chance to feel good about outlasting the downtrodden -- just like they did in coming from 20 points down to beat New Jersey, down two starters, Monday at Arco Arena. And in beating Milwaukee without star Michael Redd on Wednesday, and in beating Boston minus Paul Pierce on Jan. 19.
The three wins in the four games prior to Friday had all come against opponents missing either their best player (Pierce, Redd) or two starters (the Nets) and all had been by eight points or less. New Orleans fit. The Hornets, visitors to their own city, are probably weeks away from getting reigning Rookie of the Year Chris Paul back again and maybe a season away from getting Peja Stojakovic back, and then it even turned into a close game.
The Kings had overcome the disaster flick of a third quarter, another benefit of the wounded opponent, and trailed 84-82 heading into the final minute. On the next New Orleans possession, Ron Artest stole the ball from David West. The time after that, the Sacramento defense stepped up again, denying the Hornets an attempt as the shot clock ran down.
It was all the way down to one when Devin Brown launched a three-pointer from the right side. At least that's what the referees said. When the shot went in with 11.3 seconds remaining, the Kings demanded otherwise, smacking their hands on the tops of their heads on the sideline to plead for a 24-second violation.
It didn't come. They could have had the ball with about 11 seconds remaining and a two-point deficit. Instead, it was 87-82, and it was all but over.
"We had to play defense for 25 seconds on that one possession," center Brad Miller said.
If the night had importance for the Kings as the start of their trip, it had value for the Hornets beyond the standings as one of six games that will be played in New Orleans before the return becomes full-time next season. By that measure, it was a bad outcome, with the upper deck half-filled at best and countless empty blocks in the lower bowl as part of the announced crowd of 16,607 in a building with a listed capacity of 19,163.
It was also the first Kings appearance since Jan. 8, 2005. Since then, the teams have met in Oklahoma City and Norman, Okla., in the NBA version of fallout from Hurricane Katrina, making this the third new location in as many Sacramento road games in the series.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
