GAME RECAP At first glance, Saturday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets was a match up between two equally struggling teams. The Nets carried an 18 - 35 (.340) record into Power Balance Pavilion, while the Kings, last in the Pacific Division, were 18 - 33 (.353). But, the Kings play better at home so, Advantage: Kings? Not necessarily. The New Jersey Nets are one of only two teams to play better on the road than at home, and the only team to play substantially better. So it was that the Nets left town with a 111 - 91 win, and remained undefeated on their current swing west. The home team started well. Playing crisply, the Kings led throughout the first quarter.

What a difference a couple of months make. It was back on January 14 when the keepers of the castle were in Dallas and getting blown off the court. They only scored 23 points in the first half, 60 in the game and shot twenty-six percent in possibily the most disappointing performance of the season. Fast forward to the present. Coach Smart has had more quality time to spend with the team, thus the cohesion and his style of play are finally taking shape. On Friday night at Power Balance Pavilion, the Kings put on display the collective knowledge that Smart has infused into the team as they put a whooping on the visiting Dallas Mavericks 110-97 in front of a nearly-packed house. For the

Game Summary Going into Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns had every reason to be confident. One of only five teams to have a better record on the road than at home, they had won three of their last four games, including two straight road games. Moreover, they had beaten the Kings in 17 of their last 22 encounters. Having just stunned the "Best in the West" Oklahoma City Thunder, the Kings also had every reason to be confident. Sporting a 7 - 4 record at Power Balance Pavilion, they had won four of their last five games, while the three losses in the past seven games were by a combined total of a mere 8 points. Moreover, they had beaten the Suns in their most

Plain and simple: It was one of the best, most exciting games ever played at the old barn. With a national television audience watching on Thursday evening and the place filled to the rafters with ready-to-burst-with-applause black-adorned rabid fans, the Sacramento Kings pulled off the improbable and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 106-101. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, this game had it all. Consider this. Kevin Durant, one of the league’s outstanding players, scored 27. Russell Westbrook had 33. And the Thunder had a franchise record 17 blocks, including 10 from Serge Ibaka. Add that all up and, on a normal night, it would seem the home team was destined for doom. Ah,

Since Keith Smart took over coaching duties last month, the Kings have had very little practice time and never had everyone on the roster available for a game. Things changed this week when the Kings were able to get more time in between games to work on their new game plans. Add that to a healthy Marcus Thornton returning to the lineup and, wham-o!, a team with real possibilities has emerged. After being down at the half by nine and being throttled by LaMarcus Aldridge the entire time (19 points on 9-of-11 shooting with five rebounds), Smart changed up his formula in guarding the Blazers standout forward which led to a terrific third quarter as the Kings held on the beat the pesky Portl

The fans weren’t the only ones leaving the old barn early on Wednesday evening. Quite honestly, they weren’t the only ones leaving embarrassed either. By the time the press got into the Kings locker room after losing 122-93 in a blowout to the visiting Denver Nuggets, most of Sacramento’s players had left the arena also. No Cousins, no Tyreke, not even Donte Greene hung out long enough to give their side of this ugly one-sided loss. Keith Smart, the new coach of the 6-13 Kings, was alone at the podium to explain. “Not what I expected,” Smart started his post-game press conference. “And I’m sure our fans didn’t expect that either. Kind of an embarrassing moment for our fans to watch us

Twelve thousand plus in attendance for a preseason game told you that Kings head honcho Paul Westphal was right. “It’s nice to have basketball back in this building, isn’t it?,” Westphal started his post game press conference. It sure was! A good crowd for the only home preseason game this season saw the Sacramento Kings tighten up the defense in the final minutes of the game and hold on to beat the Golden State Warriors 95-91 at Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday evening. Leading the way for the Kings was Marcus Thornton who had 21 points, seven boards and four assists and J.J. Hickson who scored 19 points and had nine rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored the first basket of the new season o

With the season fast approaching, the Sacramento Kings held their annual Media Day on Thursday, December 15 at Power Balance Pavilion. Every player had various duties on this busy day - multiple media obligations, shooting stand ups and bits for use in-game and even an open scrimmage, where fans across the valley will get their first chance at seeing this version of the new-look Kings. With the addition of J.J. Hickson (via trade from Cleveland for Omri Casspi), the signing of free agent Chuck Hayes away from Houston and acquiring John Salmons via draft day trade involving Beno Udrih plus the drafting of three rookies in Jimmer Fredette, Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Honeycutt added to the thr

With no end in sight to the NBA lockout, Sacramento Kings forward Donte Greene gave Kings and NBA fans something to cheer about on Sunday evening at the Pavilion at UC Davis as he hosted the Goon Squad Classic. Greene came up with the name because him and fellow teammates Jason Thompson and Pooh Jeter are known as the “Goon Squad,” as they jump up and down before Kings games to help pump up the crowd. Since there has not been a labor agreement between the players and the owners of the NBA, Greene decided to host the Goon Squad Classic, a charity game that benefited numerous charities both locally and nationally. It was the first time that the Sacramento region had seen professional bask

I'm very excited that Donté Greene is bringing basketball back to Sacramento. After our community fought so hard to keep the Kings, it will be great to see the players back in town playing the game we love so much! I've already purchased my tickets and am looking forward to the Goon Squad Classic on 12/20. If you haven't gotten yours yet, you can get them at Tickets.com. While Donté is in town, he'll also be hosting a charity poker tournament which will benefit the American Diabetes Association. More details for the event can be found here and below:  www.sacpokertournament.com. When: Friday, November 18, 2011 Where: Roseville Health and Wellness Center 1650 Lead Hill Blvd., Roseville,

At the 2011 NBA draft, Commissioner David Stern came to the microphone, during the ESPN televised event, to announce the 7th overall pick of the draft. Stern said, “With the 7th pick in the 2000 and 11 draft, the Sacramento Kings select Bizmac Binbo from the Democratic Republic of Congo.” The crowd reaction at Hacienda Del Rio in Folsom was mixed. Thursday night Hacienda restaurant on Sutter Street in Folsom hosted an NBA Draft viewing party. Before the draft Sacramento, Charlotte and Milwaukee had maneuvered a 3 team trade that many fans at the restaurant were not aware of. Here’s a summary of the pre-draft trade. The Charlotte Bobcats received the 7th (from the Kings) overall pick and

Editor's Note: A correction has been made to one of the quotes in this story after it was published.   Kings past and present were reunited on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion, the latest in a series of events showing appreciation for potential and current season ticket holders. An estimated 6,000 fans filed in to the dimly-lit arena and stood in line for their complimentary barbeque lunch and hours of entertainment that would follow, a bigger showing than some games last season. Former NBA all-star Mitch Richmond, lock-down defender Doug Christie, Brad Miller and fan-favorite Bobby Jackson all made appearances, as well as current players Tyreke Evans and Donte Gre

DeMarcus Cousins sat in front of his locker space exhausted, the effects of a long first season etched in his face and his left shoulder donned in black tape as if held on by Super Glue. At least he wasn’t bleeding this time. After putting up 17 points, collecting nine rebounds, dealing out six assists and setting a personal high with five steals, it’s understandable why - nearing the end of his rookie campaign - Cousins could barely find the energy to speak to reporters after the game. “Even though we are not having a great season and everyone knows we are not going to the playoffs, the fan support is unbelievable,” said a soft-spoken Cousins. “They stick with us through thick and thin

Sacramento played catch-up for most of Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. Kings’ leads were brief and meager. In fact, their largest lead was only 6 points, but fortunately it came when just 13 seconds remained in the contest. Having come back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, the Kings eked out a 2-point lead with less than a minute to go. It was precarious. Tight games come down to converting foul shots and, in an anomaly, the Kings’ field goal percentage at that point (53%) was actually higher than their free throw percentage at that point (51%). Nevertheless, when free throws were needed, free throws were made. Tyreke Evans sank two, Marcus Thornton sank two, and the game

After starting out 2-0 during this tough stretch of games, the Kings are working their way through the home part of the journey hoping to rack up some good wins against good teams before going on the road again. The Utah Jazz were in town with their 3-9 record in their last 12 games and appeared to be ripe for the picking. Unfortunately, it was the Jazz that did the harvesting, as they held on to upend the Kings 107-104 on the strength of Deron Williams’ court magic and Al Jefferson’s play around the rim. Utah came out firing with Jefferson (23 points, 3 steals), the offensive powerhouse acquired in the offseason, was having his way with DeMarcus Cousins on the block. Jefferson’s great f

Going into the game, Sacramento was missing a few big men: Jason Thompson (sprained ankle) and Hassan Whiteside (knee strain), and then Darnell Jackson right before halftime in a freak incident. You would think the Kings would have had no chance in matching up with the daunting Boston Celtics, the team with the best record in the NBA. You would be wrong, as for most of the game the Kings were in it and even pushed back almost every time the Celts pushed them. If it wasn’t for Ray Allen’s fiery halftime locker room speech, the Kings may have prevailed. In the end, in a tough, physical game, The C’s from Beantown got by the hometown Kings, 95-90. It was the first time this tough season th

WINNING STREAK SNAPPED AT ONE Statistics predicting a Sacramento win against the visiting Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday night were overwhelming. Consider this season: the Kings had never lost a home game following a road win (such as Monday’s win in Portland), while the Bobcats had never won the first game of a road trip beginning on a Tuesday. How compelling is that!?! Not very, as it turned out.  Another statistic proved far more relevant: since their coaching change in December, the Bobcats were 8 - 6. Were that .541 winning percentage in our Pacific Division, they would trail only the Lakers. The Kings lost by 5 points, 94 - 89. When one reporter asked Coach Paul Westphal after the game

Tonight's contest between the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets marks the first-ever “Kings for the Community Night,” as over 600 tickets to the game were donated by Kings players and the team’s basketball operations staff for local youth and special groups to enjoy the NBA experience. Throughout the 2010-11 regular season, more than 6,000 tickets will be donated to deserving children and groups in the Sacramento region through the 2010-11 “Kings for the Community” program, made possible by the Kings along with presenting partners Wells Fargo and U.S. Army. Groups attending the 2010-11 “Kings for the Community Night” include: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Sacramento Area, Fost

With the worst record in the association, the Sacramento Kings were just looking for improvement in the showdown with the Atlanta Hawks. There was improvement throughout the game in the team’s collective effort and hustle, coach Paul Westphal said afterward. But even with Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins scoring 31 of the team’s 39 fourth quarter points, it was not enough to get a home win as the Kings fell to the Hawks, 108-102. The strength of Atlanta guards Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson, who combined to make 60 points in the game, was too much for the Kings. Early on, it was the rebirth of longtime fan favorite Mike Bibby (9 points, 10 boards, 4 assists) as he easily found ways to

As part of Maloof Sports & Entertainment's ninth annual "Season of Giving," Kings players Donté Greene and Samuel Dalembert and members of the Sacramento Kings Dance Team will be at Cal Expo today to help collect toy donations as part of the CHiPS for Kids Toy Drive. The public is invited to bring new, unwrapped toys or cash donations and meet Donté, Samuel and Kings Dance Team members at the Cal Expo Main Gate, (1600 Expo Blvd., Sacramento) from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Maloof Sports & Entertainment’s ninth annual “Season of Giving” consists of a series of charitable events and projects as part of an ongoing effort to make a positive and meaningful difference in the lives of children and families