The Sacramento Kings fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night by a final score of 107-102 in what is now called Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings looked to win their second game in a row and also win the first game under the arena's new name. On Tuesday, the arena formally changed its name to Power Balance Pavilion after being ARCO Arena since its inaugural game on Nov. 8, 1988. The Kings started where they finished Monday night, playing solid basketball and shooting 55 percent from the field, but they found themselves down to the Trail Blazers 30-29 after the first quarter. Newly acquired King Marcus Thornton again came into the game and provided a spark for the Kings off

Despite leading and outplaying the Portland Trail Blazers (23-20) for much of the game, the Sacramento Kings (9-31) lost 94-90 in overtime on Wednesday night at Arco Arena. The Kings were on fire out of the gates, limiting Portland to only one field goal on six attempts in the first four minutes of play, but the silver lining may reside in what appeared to be a fully recovered Tyreke Evans. Evans seemed to have little trouble slashing to the basket, a sign that a series of recent foot injuries may finally be behind him. Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal used Evans for just over 45 minutes, and the sleek shooting guard contributed 16 points, eight assists and three steals. Evans is current

The Sacramento Kings have decided to promote from within and elevate Shareef Abdur-Rahim from the position of assistant coach, a role he’s held for the past two years, to the front office position of assistant general manager. Abdur-Rahim is now one of the few players ever to be a longtime player (12 years), a coach and now rounding it all out by becoming part of the management team alongside Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. Abdur-Rahim, a soft-spoken man, said he was very grateful for the opportunity. “It’s a great opportunity from the organization,” Abdur-Rahim said. “The Maloof family, Geoff Petrie and Wayne Cooper have given me a great chance to part of this or

At the end of every season, the NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) Award is awarded to the best rookie of the season. Don Meineke was the first to win the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy in the 1952-53 season. Of the 56 ROYs, 21 basketball hall-of-famers, from Oscar Robertson to Michael Jordan, have emerged. More than 53 percent of retired ROYs were voted into the hall of fame. The next trophy could be coming to Sacramento as Kings guard Tyreke Evans tries to make history becoming the fourth rookie to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists for a season. The first three were Robertson, Jordan and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James. Portland Trail Blazers Television Analyst Mike Rice kn

After missing five games because of a concussion sustained March 19 against the Milwaukee Bucks, Tyreke Evans returned to the Sacramento Kings' starting lineup. The rookie guard has averaged 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game in his three games since returning.  His scoring has taken a hit this week with his fifth single-digit scoring night of his rookie season on Saturday. On March 30 against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Evans had 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the Kings' 102-95 loss.  Although the numbers say that he had a productive night, Evans had four of his seven turnovers and 13 of his 17 points were scored in the fo

The Kings currently have a 25-54 record and had won their first game since March 21 last night at Arco. At first you would think this is a negative – which for the present it is, and nobody likes for their team to lose – but if you are looking at the future, this should be seen as a positive. Last month was a great time for Kings fans and basketball fans alike. We were able to watch the NCAA tournament. If you watched enough games, you would have been able to see that there are two great prospects coming out. The consensus is that John Wall of Kentucky and Evan Turner of Ohio State are two difference makers who will be leaving college and entering the 2010 draft. If you are unaware of

For the basketball game's first 42 minutes, it was difficult to determine which team was playing for an improved Western Conference playoff seed and which had little more than pride as a reason to play. Ultimately, the true picture became clear Saturday night at Arco Arena when the Portland Trail Blazers outlasted the Kings, 98-87, before a crowd of 12,875.   The Trail Blazers scored 18 of the game's final 23 points during the final six minutes. Portland (47-30) is in eighth place in the playoff race with five games remaining. The Trail Blazers are just three games behind four teams (Dallas, Denver, Utah and Phoenix) tied for second place in the conference. Sacramento (24-53) lost its

After being on the road the last six games, the Sacramento Kings were able to be back in Arco, playing in an environment they are use to. Unfortunately the outcome was something they were used to on the road as well. The Sacramento Kings (24-53), who were trying to avoid a season high seventh consecutive loss, hosted the playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers (47-30), who finished with a record of 11-2 in March. Many eyes were on R.O.Y candidate Tyreke Evans before the game, as he approaches the historic 20-5-5 mark. During the game the other Roy was the one who stood out. The 2006-07 Rookie of the Year, Brandon Roy, showed the value of a few years experience.  The Trail Blazers beating

After sitting out five games, Sacramento Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans could play today against the Indiana Pacers. After sustaining a concussion when the Milwaukee Bucks' Ersan Ilyasova inadvertently hit him with an elbow, he sat out for three games before practicing last Thursday in Boston. When Evans complained of a headache at practice, the team ruled him out for the next two games. The Kings (24-50) have not done well since Evans' injury, compiling a 1-4 record since then. After beating the Los Angeles Clippers in L.A., the Kings lost at home against the Memphis Grizzlies the next night. The team left for a five-game road trip and lost to a then seven-win New Jersey Nets team, th

The Sacramento Kings unveiled a new ticket package centering around rookie its phenom Tyreke Evans. The "Chasing History Ticket Package" is based on Evans trying to reach the milestone of becoming the fourth rookie in NBA history to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in a season. The first three were current NBA superstar LeBron James and basketball hall-of-famers Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. When a ticket worth $40.50 or higher is purchased, it will also include a Tyreke Chasing History 20-5-5 T-shirt. The package is available for only three games: April 3 against the Portland Trail Blazers, April 6 against the San Antonio Spurs and April 8 against the Los Angeles

Without a doubt, this has been the best basketball Tyreke Evans has played in his rookie season for the Sacramento Kings The Kings’ 20-year-old guard has averaged 19 points, 8.75 rebounds, 7.75 assists and 0.75 steals per game since March 9.  Since then, the Kings have played the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland and home games against the Toronto Raptors, the Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that span the team has a 2-2 record. Evans posted 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and a steal in the 88-81 loss in Portland.  The Kings were within three points of the Blazers late in the game, but the experience of the Blazers overtook the Kings – the least-experienced team in the N

For a team that was on the second game of a back-to-back, the Portland Trail Blazers played like a fresh team. After beating the Toronto Raptors and a day of rest, it was the Sacramento Kings that were shut down. The Blazers defeated the Kings 110-94 in a game where turnovers made the difference. After achieving a triple-double the game before, Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Kings power forward Carl Landry had 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Francisco Garcia had 17 points off the bench. Portland led by as many as 26 points and scored 21 points off of the Kings' 20 turnovers. Kings power forward Carl Landry said it was obv

With four games played in March, Sacramento Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans is still producing, despite his team losing three of the last four games to playoff-bound teams. Evans put up 17.5 points, 4.75 rebounds, 5.75 assists and 1.75 steals per game since March 2. He had had a team-high 27 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that has the sixth-best record in the Western Conference.  The Thunder's defense tightened up late in the game, securing a 113-107 home win over the Kings. Oklahoma City's top two players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, combined for 69 points. The next night, the Kings were in Houston to play the Rocket