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Stars see Kings shine
Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin and Ron Artest lead a rout and send L.A.'s celebrity fans home unhappy.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:30 am PST Saturday, March 3, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Pardon them for soaking up the positive vibes. Wins like these don't come along too often.
So after the Kings dismantled the Lakers in their domain 116-108 Friday night, it seemed no one wanted to leave. Kings coach Eric Musselman joked about how there are so many more postgame questions after losses, then volunteered to stick around and share his thoughts even though the questions had stopped.
Ron Artest was in his element in every way, schmoozing with "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson so long that Musselman went looking for him in the Staples Center tunnel because, as he told Artest, "Ron, we've got a game
tomorrow."
As for the Lakers? They didn't stick around for long, trailing 10-0 in the opening minutes in what set the trend for the night. Kevin Martin hit an 18-footer, followed by an Artest three-pointer, a Mike Bibby 21-footer and a Martin three to round it out.
It was the quick answer to the recent question of whether the Kings' core could find cohesion all at once, with Artest returning from his one-game absence to fit in as one-third of a dangerous trio.
They combined for 72 points on 22-for-44 shooting, with Bibby scoring a game-high 33 points and hitting 5 of 9 shots from three-point range.
"It was about time we had a chance to get clicking with everybody," Artest said. "We never really clicked like that, and this was against a good team."
It was a Lakers team that had more help than expected, with center Kwame Brown overcoming a right ankle sprain to take part and reserve guard Aaron McKie surprisingly playing after a respiratory infection had his status as questionable.
But they were the reserves who didn't matter nearly as much as the Lakers needed them to, as Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom combined for 56 points, and the role players who were so potent against the Kings in their Jan. 4 overtime loss could not repeat.
David Arquette would have helped if he had a jersey, as the B-list actor watched the Kings put on their A-game courtside and was maddened when Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn't call on Bryant earlier in the fourth quarter.
Bryant didn't play in the final quarter until the 7:27 mark, long after Arquette -- who offered Hollywood flair when he did backspins on the floor during a third-quarter timeout -- was chanting "MVP, MVP" in hopes that Jackson would oblige.
By the time he did, Bryant and the Lakers couldn't capitalize on the Kings' lone dry stretch of the evening. They went 3:09 without scoring midway through the fourth, with the streak broken by two Bibby free throws that put them up 104-94 with 4:04 remaining.
After Odom backed down Artest in the post to cut the lead to eight again, Martin snuck under the basket for an uncontested layup off a Brad Miller pass and a 106-96 lead, and a Bibby three-pointer with 2:30 left all but ended it.
Bibby said he was done for the night long before then, but a heckler courtside inspired him to start shooting again.
"I didn't want to shoot anymore, but a guy on the side was going at me," he said. "He was saying, 'You guys haven't won nothing, haven't been good for so long.' I was done until he started talking."
In the first half, the Lakers were done in by a Kings press that continues to pester opponents.
Using the press often in the first half that the Kings led 65-48, Musselman said the Lakers were 1 of 9 in possessions in which the heat was put on.
"(The press) has been a big factor for us lately, and especially with the second unit when they come in," Musselman said. "I thought it really changed the complexion of the game for us."
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/132136.html
Mike Bibby, Kevin Martin and Ron Artest lead a rout and send L.A.'s celebrity fans home unhappy.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:30 am PST Saturday, March 3, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
Pardon them for soaking up the positive vibes. Wins like these don't come along too often.
So after the Kings dismantled the Lakers in their domain 116-108 Friday night, it seemed no one wanted to leave. Kings coach Eric Musselman joked about how there are so many more postgame questions after losses, then volunteered to stick around and share his thoughts even though the questions had stopped.
Ron Artest was in his element in every way, schmoozing with "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson so long that Musselman went looking for him in the Staples Center tunnel because, as he told Artest, "Ron, we've got a game
tomorrow."
As for the Lakers? They didn't stick around for long, trailing 10-0 in the opening minutes in what set the trend for the night. Kevin Martin hit an 18-footer, followed by an Artest three-pointer, a Mike Bibby 21-footer and a Martin three to round it out.
It was the quick answer to the recent question of whether the Kings' core could find cohesion all at once, with Artest returning from his one-game absence to fit in as one-third of a dangerous trio.
They combined for 72 points on 22-for-44 shooting, with Bibby scoring a game-high 33 points and hitting 5 of 9 shots from three-point range.
"It was about time we had a chance to get clicking with everybody," Artest said. "We never really clicked like that, and this was against a good team."
It was a Lakers team that had more help than expected, with center Kwame Brown overcoming a right ankle sprain to take part and reserve guard Aaron McKie surprisingly playing after a respiratory infection had his status as questionable.
But they were the reserves who didn't matter nearly as much as the Lakers needed them to, as Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom combined for 56 points, and the role players who were so potent against the Kings in their Jan. 4 overtime loss could not repeat.
David Arquette would have helped if he had a jersey, as the B-list actor watched the Kings put on their A-game courtside and was maddened when Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn't call on Bryant earlier in the fourth quarter.
Bryant didn't play in the final quarter until the 7:27 mark, long after Arquette -- who offered Hollywood flair when he did backspins on the floor during a third-quarter timeout -- was chanting "MVP, MVP" in hopes that Jackson would oblige.
By the time he did, Bryant and the Lakers couldn't capitalize on the Kings' lone dry stretch of the evening. They went 3:09 without scoring midway through the fourth, with the streak broken by two Bibby free throws that put them up 104-94 with 4:04 remaining.
After Odom backed down Artest in the post to cut the lead to eight again, Martin snuck under the basket for an uncontested layup off a Brad Miller pass and a 106-96 lead, and a Bibby three-pointer with 2:30 left all but ended it.
Bibby said he was done for the night long before then, but a heckler courtside inspired him to start shooting again.
"I didn't want to shoot anymore, but a guy on the side was going at me," he said. "He was saying, 'You guys haven't won nothing, haven't been good for so long.' I was done until he started talking."
In the first half, the Lakers were done in by a Kings press that continues to pester opponents.
Using the press often in the first half that the Kings led 65-48, Musselman said the Lakers were 1 of 9 in possessions in which the heat was put on.
"(The press) has been a big factor for us lately, and especially with the second unit when they come in," Musselman said. "I thought it really changed the complexion of the game for us."
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/132136.html
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Guess it was just too late for the outlying area versions. 
