If it wasn’t enough that it was Grateful Dead night and fans that bought the special ticket package got to talk to the legendary Bill Walton, members of the band and got a special T-shirt to mark the occasion. Then, the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, former Kansas City Royal Oscar Robertson was being recognized. How about that it was Fan Appreciation Night at the ole barn and nearly half in attendance was rewarded with some kind of prize for being a loyal purple-wearing fan. And finally, outstanding Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Isaiah Thomas was honored as this year’s winner of the team’s Oscar Robertson Triple Double Award during the game. Oh,

The Sacramento Kings dropped their fourth straight game as they fell to the Houston Rockets 104-87 at Power Balance Pavilion Sunday night. Sacramento came out with little energy, and it showed as the Rockets jumped to a quick 10-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. “We just didn’t have a lot of energy tonight, and that’s something we’ve got to work on,” Kings guard Jimmer Fredette said. “We’ve got to continue to get better at that and come bring it every single night so we are disappointed with ourselves.” After scoring at least 99 points in their previous 12 games, the Kings have been held to under 85 points in their last three games. Coach Keith Smart attributes this to the

One would think, in a game billed as the “Throwdown Showdown,” a battle between a couple of the game’s best dunkers in Donte Greene and DeMarcus Cousins for the Kings and DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin for the visiting Clippers, that there would be a ton of action at the rim. Not the case, as Sacramento’s front line did a solid job of protecting the paint against the bigs from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was the guards of the Clippers who did the damage in the key on various drives to the basket by Chris Paul, Randy Foye, Nick Young and Eric Bledsoe. Each of them scored in double figures and constantly pushed the ball into the lane as the Kings lost 93-85 Thursday evening at Power B

The Sacramento Kings were unable to achieve back-to-back wins as they fell to Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns for the third time this season Tuesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. DeMarcus Cousins did all he could, leading all scorers with a career-high 41 points en route to the 109-100 loss. Cousins also hauled in 12 rebounds and shot 16-25 from the field. “He had a career night taking advantage of their interior,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “We had him posting up in different areas on the floor, so he had both baseline- and middle-drive. Then they started doubling, and that’s something that’s going to happen to him as he grows as a pro.” But not even Cousins’ monster game could o

In a tit-for-tat, intense game, the Sacramento Kings lost on Thursday at Power Balance Pavilion by one point to the Utah Jazz with a final score of 103 to 102. Both teams had won their last three games, so the pressure was on the Kings to keep it up. After the game, Kings Head Coach Keith Smart said, “Overall I thought (the Kings) did a good job … (The Jazz is) a good quality team, good quality pro big men. They made some plays that they’re accustomed to making, but yet our group was right there, one rebound away from winning (the) game.” Al Jefferson of the Jazz made the first two points, but Jason Thompson’s layup evened things out 30 seconds later. The first quarter moved at this po

In this year of ups and downs, consistency has been the Sacramento Kings missing piece.  After losing two games that the Kings should have won against lesser opponents last week, the team then beat two upper-echelon teams with relative ease. A win would give the team three in a row and would seem to have them on track in digesting and displaying coach Keith Smart’s system. A loss, and the roller coaster ride would continue. So when the Memphis Grizzlies came to town Tuesday evening, the question was, which Kings team would show up? The short answer: the good one. The Kings took over in the first quarter by scoring 37 points and never looked back in downing the Grizzlies 119-110 at Powe

The Sacramento Kings ran out of gas as they fell to the Detroit Pistons 124-112 Wednesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings suffered another loss on the court, losing guard Tyreke Evans to an ankle sprain. Evans came down awkwardly on his ankle after making a layup late in the game. X-rays came up negative and Evans is listed day-to-day. Following two losses in a row, struggling on both sides of the floor, the Kings came out with an intensity that allowed them to jump out to a big lead against the Pistons. Forward Jason Thompson played great for the Kings, scoring 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting and grabbing 15 rebounds off the glass. “Jason is the perfect guy for what we are d

The Sacramento Kings lacked the energy necessary to win the game once again, as they fell to their Northern California rival Golden State Warriors 115-89 Tuesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings were unable to capitalize on the Warriors’ forced improvisation with their rotation following a trade made just before the game. The Warriors decided to make a splash before the trade deadline by swapping out guard Monta Ellis, former first-overall pick Kwame Brown and second-year forward Ekpe Udoh in a five-player trade. In return from the Milwaukee Bucks: the injured Andrew Bogut and a disgruntled Stephen Jackson. Ellis was the Warriors’ leading scorer this season with 21.9 points and

The Sacramento Kings were unable to continue their modest two-game win streak as the Kings fell 106-99 to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings returned to old habits with turnovers once again, finishing the game with 16 turnovers and only 19 assists. Despite a big game from DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings were unable to overcome the turnovers as the Hawks took advantage to leave Sacramento with the road win. Cousins finished with yet another double-double, this time with 28 points and 12 rebounds, even with fouling out of the game. “I just thought we had too many mistakes we made,” Kings coach Keith Smart said following the game. “Based on how we had played

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

Unlikely. If you would have asked almost any Kings fan before the game, they never would have used that word to describe the chances of a win against the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday evening at Power Balance Pavilion. Not only likely, but darn well better win. But when it came down to the final moments of the game, the chances of a home victory seemed very unlikely. With the Kings trailing by one and 14.9 seconds left in the game, Marcus Thornton (25 points, four boards, four steals) missed a runner and the collective breath of the old barn let out a sigh. It seemed a loss was in the near future until an incredible steal from rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas, who then passed to Joh

Playing against the “Lob City” crew and an arsenal of good long-range shooters, the Kings’ task at hand, on this Thursday night, was a tough one. Add in Kenyon Martin, who just made it back from China, and the Clippers are finally a legitimate contending team in this shortened season. With that said, the Sacramento Kings hung tough until a bad stretch in the fourth quarter that was initiated by some — as the venerable Bill Walton would say, “horrible” — calls and non-calls by the officials. In the end, the Kings fell too far back late in the game to mount a comeback and lost to the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 108-100. After the Kings got out to a early 6-0 lead on shots from DeMarcus

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,

Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart led his team to victory against the Golden State Warriors at the Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday. The Warriors started the first quarter off strong. Shooting guard Dorell Wright scored 14 points versus center DeMarcus Cousins’ and shooting guard Marcus Thornton’s eight points each. By the end of the first half, the Warriors made eight of 12 3-pointers and maintained the lead at 54 points, putting them one point ahead of the Kings. Thornton, who had trouble shooting in the first half, made his comeback in the third quarter. He made four 3-pointers and scored 18 of the Kings’ 34 points, putting his team eleven points ahead of the Golden State War

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

The Kings returned home after a tough five-game road trip to beat the Indiana Pacers 92-88 in a hard-fought battle at Power Balance Pavilion Wednesday night. “I don’t know how, but somehow this group found a way,” Kings head coach Keith Smart said. “I don’t know how we did it, but this group has some resilience. They fought, they found a lineup that got us back into the game, and they closed it out. And that’s what I’m trying to get us to become: a team on any given night.” On their eventful road trip, the Kings went 1-4 while earning their first road win, along with setting a new franchise record with only 23 points of the first half in a 99-60 rout by the Dallas Mavericks. Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings failed to close the game as they fell to the Orlando Magic 104-97 on Sunday at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings were unable to capitalize on Magic big man Dwight Howard’s foul trouble. Howard started the game but was forced to leave the game at the 10:20 mark in the first quarter after two quick fouls on Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins. Howard didn’t return until midway through the second but was quickly forced to leave the game once again as he was called for a bump foul on Cousins for his third foul of the night. Howard only played 20 minutes all game and was held scoreless until he made a layup and made a free throw after the foul at 6:35 remaining in the game fo

Unbelievable! Amazing! Jaw-dropping! Spectacular! In sports writing, superlatives are greatly overused. Heck, even The Court Jester abuses the Queen’s English occasionally! In this case, however, I think not! After being down 58-37 at the half, being outshot from the floor 60.5 percent to 31.8 perccent in the first half and only scoring 12 points in the second quarter, it looked like another lackluster Kings performance would etch another loss in the standings Thursday evening. Not so fast, my pretty! After a day of showing Coach Paul Westphal the door, elevating assistant Keith Smart to the position full-time and holding a players-only film study session before the game, the Kings ca

The Sacramento Kings named Keith Smart head coach Thursday, promoting him from his position of assistant coach after firing Paul Westphal Thursday morning. “Keith will bring a new perspective to the team as we try to move forward with the season,” Geoff Petrie, chief of basketball operations, said in a press release. “He’s very well prepared and will assume the job with some new ideas and new approaches of his own. We’re all excited and looking forward to working with him.” Westphal was let go after about two and a half seasons where the Kings’ record was 51 wins and 120 losses. This season began with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers Dec. 26, but the Kings had only won two games going i