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Rockets deep-sixed
Bench play helps Kings win sixth in a row
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Kings center Brad Miller blocks the shot of the Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, who finished with 29 points and nine rebounds.
The Kings have been waiting for Bobby Jackson to look like himself on the court, and Tuesday night, he did just that during a 102-96 victory over the Houston Rockets before a sellout crowd of 17,317 at Arco Arena.
The Kings won their sixth straight and completed a five-game sweep of their first homestand as they moved to 7-4 on the season.
The energetic Jackson might not have matched his season high of 20 points, but his 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists were integral in the victory, as was Darius Songaila coming off the bench to add 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
That productive bench play was needed on a night Chris Webber made 3 of 17 from the field.
Peja Stojakovic didn't make his first shot until midway through the first quarter but still finished with a team-high 22 points to lead seven Kings in double-figure scoring.
The Kings played a second straight game in which neither team held a double-digit lead. Houston held its biggest lead at 77-70 with 1:50 left in the third but couldn't pull away because of the Kings' overall production. Houston also committed 18 turnovers, leading to 17 Kings points.
Jackson made back-to-back three-pointers off passes from Mike Bibby (10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and a team-high eight assists) midway through the fourth quarter to give the Kings an 86-83 lead they never lost.
Judging from Doug Christie's reactions, which included him waving a towel and leaping off the bench, he was more excited than Jackson.
As much as his team, Jackson has been waiting for a night like this.
"There's no worse feeling than to feel you're not doing your job," said Jackson, who by making 3 of 6 three-point attempts had more than one field from long range for the first time this season. "But I think this was the first time I felt like the old Bobby Jackson since last year before the (strained abdominal muscle)."
At times, the Kings appeared to be trying to defense the irresistible force and the immovable object in Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Yao led all scorers with 29 points, and McGrady had 25.
Christie did a solid job against McGrady, his former Toronto teammate, although he got loose in the third quarter for 11 of his points. As Christie had said one day earlier, McGrady is so smooth and talented that he didn't seem to be extending himself.
When Jackson entered the game for Christie in the fourth, Stojakovic took over the McGrady duties and made him work. And for the first time this season, the Kings' bench stepped up, outscoring Houston's reserves 35-14.
The Kings' bench scored 20 of the team's 28 points in the fourth, when Songaila scored eight of his 10 points. Jackson scored 10 of his 18 points and had five rebounds during the pivotal period.
Greg Ostertag scored two baskets in the fourth and also did a decent job on Yao. But it was Brad Miller who might have made the biggest play of the game, with 2:17 left. As the Kings led 96-95, Miller passed up a 17-foot jump shot, drove past Yao and scored on a lay-in as he was fouled by Maurice Taylor.
That basket and subsequent free throw gave the Kings some badly needed breathing room at 99-95. It was the only basket in Sacramento's final nine attempts. Houston (6-7) missed four straight shots during the final 3:11. And Sacramento committed just one of its season-low seven turnovers during the second half.
Rockets deep-sixed
Bench play helps Kings win sixth in a row
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Kings center Brad Miller blocks the shot of the Houston Rockets' 7-foot-6 Yao Ming, who finished with 29 points and nine rebounds.
The Kings have been waiting for Bobby Jackson to look like himself on the court, and Tuesday night, he did just that during a 102-96 victory over the Houston Rockets before a sellout crowd of 17,317 at Arco Arena.
The Kings won their sixth straight and completed a five-game sweep of their first homestand as they moved to 7-4 on the season.
The energetic Jackson might not have matched his season high of 20 points, but his 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists were integral in the victory, as was Darius Songaila coming off the bench to add 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
That productive bench play was needed on a night Chris Webber made 3 of 17 from the field.
Peja Stojakovic didn't make his first shot until midway through the first quarter but still finished with a team-high 22 points to lead seven Kings in double-figure scoring.
The Kings played a second straight game in which neither team held a double-digit lead. Houston held its biggest lead at 77-70 with 1:50 left in the third but couldn't pull away because of the Kings' overall production. Houston also committed 18 turnovers, leading to 17 Kings points.
Jackson made back-to-back three-pointers off passes from Mike Bibby (10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and a team-high eight assists) midway through the fourth quarter to give the Kings an 86-83 lead they never lost.
Judging from Doug Christie's reactions, which included him waving a towel and leaping off the bench, he was more excited than Jackson.
As much as his team, Jackson has been waiting for a night like this.
"There's no worse feeling than to feel you're not doing your job," said Jackson, who by making 3 of 6 three-point attempts had more than one field from long range for the first time this season. "But I think this was the first time I felt like the old Bobby Jackson since last year before the (strained abdominal muscle)."
At times, the Kings appeared to be trying to defense the irresistible force and the immovable object in Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Yao led all scorers with 29 points, and McGrady had 25.
Christie did a solid job against McGrady, his former Toronto teammate, although he got loose in the third quarter for 11 of his points. As Christie had said one day earlier, McGrady is so smooth and talented that he didn't seem to be extending himself.
When Jackson entered the game for Christie in the fourth, Stojakovic took over the McGrady duties and made him work. And for the first time this season, the Kings' bench stepped up, outscoring Houston's reserves 35-14.
The Kings' bench scored 20 of the team's 28 points in the fourth, when Songaila scored eight of his 10 points. Jackson scored 10 of his 18 points and had five rebounds during the pivotal period.
Greg Ostertag scored two baskets in the fourth and also did a decent job on Yao. But it was Brad Miller who might have made the biggest play of the game, with 2:17 left. As the Kings led 96-95, Miller passed up a 17-foot jump shot, drove past Yao and scored on a lay-in as he was fouled by Maurice Taylor.
That basket and subsequent free throw gave the Kings some badly needed breathing room at 99-95. It was the only basket in Sacramento's final nine attempts. Houston (6-7) missed four straight shots during the final 3:11. And Sacramento committed just one of its season-low seven turnovers during the second half.
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