SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Not many Sacramento Kings are left from the years when thousands of their frustrated fans would drive 80 miles to Oakland twice a year because they couldn’t get tickets to see their team in Sacramento. The fan flow is reversed these days, with the Golden State Warriors’ faithful filling empty seats at Arco Arena.
At least the Kings silenced their Bay Area bashers Tuesday night with a performance that kept this rivalry cooking.
Kevin Martin scored 34 points, Ron Artest added 26 and the Kings snapped a three-game losing streak against their Northern California neighbors, beating the Warriors 122-105.
The pro-Warriors chants did nothing to dissuade the Kings, though their 23-point lead dwindled to six midway through the fourth quarter. Sacramento rallied with 15 consecutive points to preserve just its second win in seven meetings with a team it once dominated.
“We know how our fans are when we go down there,” Martin said. “It’s a good rivalry, and it feels good to keep it going.”
Anthony Johnson had 13 points and 13 assists in a rare start at point guard, while Mikki Moore had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Kings’ fourth win in five games. Brad Miller added 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out.
Artest joined the Kings in the waning months of Sacramento’s renaissance, but such an effort against another team in playoff position tells him better days are returning soon.
“It’s no surprise, (but) if we win next year and win the next year after that, there won’t be tickets for Golden State fans,” Artest said. “It’s our fault. I totally understand why not as many Kings fans come out.”
Baron Davis had 24 points—just five after halftime—and eight assists for the Warriors, who endured long stretches of awful shooting during just their third loss in 11 games. The Warriors remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Denver for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs after the Nuggets lost in Detroit.
The Warriors know they can’t survive many more prolonged lapses in effort— not in their numerous tight games, and not with their precarious position in the postseason race.
“We just had too many guys who didn’t play at a very high level,” coach Don Nelson said. “I consider (the Kings) a good team. They’re very similar to us, and there’s a lot of positives to this team. As bad as we played, we deserved to get knocked down a few times.”
Sacramento gradually moved far ahead of the defense-deficient Warriors in the third quarter, taking a 97-74 lead with a 16-2 run late in the period. The Kings made nearly 62 percent of their shots through three quarters, while Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis had the Warriors’ most pronounced shooting struggles.
With the Warriors traveling to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, Nelson appeared ready to rest Davis, Ellis and Andris Biedrins for the entire fourth quarter. But Jackson and four Warriors reserves mounted a 17-2 run, pulling within 107-101 with 5:35 to play on Jackson’s two free throws.
Davis re-entered the game at that point, but Sacramento held Golden State scoreless for the next 5:02 until Mickael Pietrus’ layup with 33 seconds to play.
“It was a game we wanted and needed,” Jackson said. “Nobody is just going to let us win. We just did not come to play.”
The Kings played without point guard Beno Udrih, who has a lower back strain, and rookie center Spencer Hawes, who sprained his left foot. The injury problems could have been even more debilitating, but Artest played through a sore right elbow and John Salmons played 15 minutes on a sprained right ankle.
Ellis had 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting a few days after his brother, 27-year-old Antwain Ellis, was wounded by gunfire last weekend in their native Jackson, Miss. The Warriors said Ellis didn’t want to talk about the incident, and both Ellis and Davis declined to speak to reporters after the game.
“Monta didn’t have a very good game for obvious reasons, I think,” Nelson said.
Notes
Theus riled Jackson and other Warriors by taking a 20-second timeout with 33 seconds left. “That’s not right,” Jackson fumed. “I just take it as disrespect. That’s just being cocky and showing off. That’s just disrespectful.” The teams finish their season series in Oakland on April 8. … Longtime Kings F Chris Webber missed his eighth straight game for Golden State with a lingering knee injury. Webber’s aged knees were one reason Sacramento traded him to Philadelphia three years ago along with Matt Barnes, the Sacramento native who scored eight points for the Warriors. … The teams were tied 21 times in the first half, including 33-33, 44-44 and 55-55.
Golden State Of Mind
Sactown Royalty