Basketball News, NBA, Playoff news, watch NBA Play off games online for free

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Kevin Martin had 29 points and Brad Miller added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings 100-93 over the winless Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

John Salmons had 19 points and three steals for the Kings who were playing at home for the second night in a row.

Al Jefferson had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Rashad McCants came off the bench to score 16 points for Minnesota in a game that was tied 21 times.

Neither team could get much distance after halftime, and Sebastian Telfair made a 3-pointer to send the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 73.

Minnesota took an 89-88 lead on two free throws by rookie Corey Brewer with 4:13 left. But the Kings regained it when Martin hit three straight free throws and Miller made two for a 94-90 lead with 1:28 to play.

McCants hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, but Beno Udrih hit a basket to keep the Timberwolves down by three.

After Garcia won a jump ball, Miller tipped in a missed basket to seal the victory.

Notes: After 354 sellouts at ARCO Arena over an eight-year period, the Kings failed for the third consecutive home game to fill the seats to capacity. ... Saturday night's announced crowd against the Timberwolves was 13,170. ... Sacramento Kings rookie Spencer Hawes made his NBA debut in the second quarter. ... The Kings 10th pick in the first round, Hawes had arthroscopic surgery in October on his right knee. Hawes finished with 2 points in six minutes

link

SACRAMENTO, Nov. 9 (AP) -- Four years after LeBron James made his NBA debut in Arco Arena, he can perform much greater feats with a whole lot less effort.

Back in 2003, the teenage phenom put in a full night of relentless effort in an outstanding first outing. These days, the King of the Eastern Conference can take most of the night off and still flatten the Sacramento Kings.

James rallied the Cavaliers with eight points on a series of dynamic moves in the final 2:57, and Cleveland hung on for a 93-91 victory Friday night.

James finished with 26 points despite seeming to sit back and watch much of the Cavs' fourth game in six nights. He scored just seven points in the first half, and was passive for much of the second until rising up for his late flurry, capped by a beautiful three-point play with 53 seconds left.

"You've just got to seize the moment,'' James said. "For the first three quarters, I didn't force anything. I like to just take what the offense gives me, and I make plays happen. In the fourth, I was able to get some rebounds and force the issue more, and it turned into good things. The team did a great job feeding off me.''

That strategy might not fly in the postseason, but it worked just fine in a November matchup with the scrappy Kings.

Devin Brown had 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who treaded dangerously close to a surprising upset loss until James perked up in the fourth stop of a six-game road trip.

But the defending NBA finalists weren't safe until Kevin Martin missed a long jumper at the buzzer. Martin, who had 32 points while making 17 free throws for the Kings, couldn't draw a foul 2 seconds earlier despite apparent contact from Cleveland's Drew Gooden.

"Obviously, not a person in the building didn't think he got fouled,'' Sacramento coach Reggie Theus said. "They had been calling that foul all game. It looked like a foul to me.''

John Salmons and Francisco Garcia each scored 18 points for the 1-4 Kings, who won their home opener Tuesday night despite failing to sell out Arco Arena for the first time since 1999. Another non-sellout crowd still was loud for the return of James, who formally joined the NBA here on Oct. 29, 2003, with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

"We contained him as well as we could,'' Salmons said of James. "But he made some plays down the stretch. That's what he's going to do.''

Brown provided the Cavs' only consistent effort, rebounding aggressively and playing tough defense. After showing up to training camp overweight and only getting playing time because of Larry Hughes' bruised knee, Brown finally feels good about his first season with Cleveland.

"I wasn't playing hard, and wasn't doing anything to help the team,'' Brown said of his recent efforts. "I worked tonight and kept working to get shots, just letting my teammates know I'm ready.''

After trailing for nearly every minute of their first four games, the Kings took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. Martin's dunk on a 70-foot football pass from Brad Miller put Sacramento up 78-76 with 6:52 to play.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds, tied it with a putback on an offensive rebound with 2:08 left. James then put the Cavs ahead 88-86 by grabbing a rebound and sprinting past three Kings for a two-handed dunk.

James hit a jumper and a three-point play on the Cavaliers' next two possessions to put them up 93-88, but Salmons converted a three-point play before Damon Jones missed a jumper to give Sacramento one last shot.

After Gooden appeared to foul Martin while the ball went out of bounds, Martin couldn't hit a tough shot from the sideline. Cleveland celebrated while leaving the court in its third straight win over the Kings.

"John defended (James) better than I've ever seen him defended,'' said Martin, who declined to speculate whether he was fouled. "He was in his pocket the whole game.''

The Cavs played their third straight game without Hughes. Veterans Donyell Marshall (sprained right wrist) and Eric Snow (sprained left knee) still are inactive, and rookie forward Demetris Nichols didn't dress because of back spasms.

Cleveland won't get any sympathy from the Kings, who still are without their two best players. Guard Mike Bibby is out until at least mid-December with a thumb injury, while forward Ron Artest served the fifth game of his seven-game suspension.

Notes: Martin made his first 10 free throws, finishing 17-of-18. ... Raiders WR Jerry Porter attended the game. ... Sacramento played the first of an NBA rarity: back-to-back home games on consecutive days. The Kings host Minnesota on Saturday night.

link

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 6 (AP) -- Francisco Garcia's timely 3-pointer saved the Sacramento Kings from what would have been quite the double whammy in their home opener.

Garcia hit a go-ahead baseline 3 with 29 seconds to play, lifting Sacramento to a 104-98 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics and a win for new coach Reggie Theus in his Arco Arena debut.

Seattle rookie Kevin Durant shot an airball with about 7 seconds left, but still finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Sonics, who are 0-4 for the first time in 30 years.

It hardly mattered that the Kings also saw their sellout streak end at 354 games: The team avoided its first 0-4 start since 1997-98. The game drew 14,908 fans - 2,409 below capacity at one of the NBA's most imposing road venues.

Kevin Martin had 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Sacramento, which will have another tough test on its home floor Friday with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Theus, dressed to the nines with a navy blue pinstripe suit for big the occasion, had his high school coach, Mike Sterling, in the stands to cheer him on after Sterling made the trip from Southern California.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 32 points for the Sonics and Nick Collison added 12 points and seven rebounds. Szczerbiak scored 18 of his points in the second quarter as Seattle built a 61-48 halftime lead before shooting 7-for-20 in the third quarter.

John Salmons added 23 points for a Kings' lineup missing point guard Mike Bibby, forward Ron Artest and rookie center Spencer Hawes. Salmons' driving layin with 1:02 to play pulled the Kings within 98-97.

"They're twice as athletic as we are,'' Theus said.

Bibby is expected to be sidelined for at least the first six weeks of the season with a torn ligament in his left thumb, while Hawes is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Artest is suspended for the first seven games.

Sacramento opened the third period with a 7-0 spurt to get back in the game as the Sonics came out cold. The Kings tied it on Martin's layin with 3:02 left, then went ahead on Quincy Douby's basket the next time down before a three-point play by Szczerbiak.

Theus wasn't worried about whether the game sold out.

"Every team goes through periods of time when things are not great,'' said Theus, who took over after Eric Musselman was fired following only one season as coach. "What you do in the interim determines how long that lasts. .. We have a lot of die-hard fans.''

Robert Swift earned his first start for the Sonics, playing for the second time this season after recovering from ACL surgery on his right knee that caused him to miss all of last season. First-year Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo was considering playing Swift in back-to-back games if all went well.

Notes: Hawes, the Kings' top draft pick selected 10th overall out of Washington, was scheduled to begin practicing Wednesday. "He's so excited,'' Theus said. "He was bouncing around. He was on a pogo stick today.'' ... Durant and Hawes are good friends and got together Monday night in Sacramento. ... New Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker attended the game and sat courtside with wife, Melissa, and 8-year-old son, Darren. Baker, who recently built a home in the area, received a warm reception when introduced and shook hands with referee Ron Olesiak during a second-quarter timeout. Darren got to dribble the game ball during that break and later had a jersey signed by Bibby.

In the SACRAMENTO BEE, Sam Amick writes “the pick and roll had gone just fine, with Spencer Hawes catching so many passes from Kings assistant coach Randy Brown and finishing with either a layup or one-handed slam. Hawes had the pick and pop down, too, sinking most of his midrange jumpers in a workout before the Kings faced Dallas on Saturday at American Airlines Center. Then, in the clearest of signs the Kings rookie center is feeling like himself and nearing a return from arthroscopic knee surgery in early October, he informed Brown he was ready to score like the best in the game.”

DALLAS, Nov. 3 (AP) -- Point guard J.J. Barea made the most of his first NBA start, hitting 9 of 11 shots for a career-high 25 points, and leading the Dallas Mavericks past the Sacramento Kings 123-102 in their home opener Saturday night.

The Mavericks had 101 points by the end of the third quarter and threatened the franchise's record for shooting accuracy. They finished 45-of-69 for 65.2 percent, just shy of their best-ever mark of 67.7 set in 1983.

Josh Howard, who missed the first two games because of a suspension, led Dallas with 27 points. Dirk Nowitzki matched Barea's 9-for-11 performance and had 24 points.

Barea, who is listed as 6 feet but admits to being a few inches less, started because Devin Harris bruised his left thigh the previous night. He made his first four shots and had already topped his career high in points with 17 at the half.

The second-year guard was slowed by leg cramps early in the third quarter and received a standing ovation when he went to the bench early in the fourth quarter, following a nifty scooping layup. Another highlight came on a fast break in the second quarter, when he tipped a pass to himself, collected it and scored around Brad Miller, drawing a foul against the former All-Star. Miller landed on his back, then stood with hands on hips as he watched a replay on the overhead monitor.

Kevin Martin led Sacramento with 28 points. John Salmons had 27 and Francisco Garcia 23, but the Kings plopped to 0-3 with their most lopsided loss yet - and that's saying something considering how awful their first two games went.

With Mike Bibby injured and Ron Artest suspended, Sacramento has led once all season: 2-0 in the opener. New coach Reggie Theus' club hasn't even been tied since the opener was 4-4.

The only solace in this game was that the first half was less embarrassing than the franchise-worst outing the night before in San Antonio.

Sacramento scored 25 points in the first quarter, topping the 23 it had the first two quarters against the Spurs. The Kings started this game 11-of-16, a quantum leap from the 7-of-36 start down south.

Still, Sacramento was barely competitive. Dallas led by at least 13 the entire second half.

Before their first home game since an embarrassing first-round playoff exit last year, Jerry Stackhouse addressed the fans from midcourt. He said this was the third straight year he's made a season-opening speech, so he asked Nowitzki if he wanted to say anything.

"He said, 'Stack, go do your thing. I'll talk at the championship ceremony,''' Stackhouse said, drawing a loud ovation and a big smile from Nowitzki.

Notes: Howard's suspension was for smacking Miller in the head in a preseason game. They got along just fine this time. ... Sacramento had more turnovers (10) than rebounds (8) at halftime. ... Dallas scored 73 first-half points, topping last season's best of 66. The franchise record is 85. ... Harris said he hopes to return for Dallas on Monday night at home against Houston. ... Howard is wearing a brace on his left wrist. He can't wait to get it off - so he can go back to wearing two white wristbands. ... With 5:22 left in the first quarter, Barea had outscored Sacramento 10-8.

San Antonio 96, Sacramento 80

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 2 (AP) -- Manu Ginobili got the signal from San Antonio Spurs teammate Tim Duncan and took off running.

By the time the Sacramento Kings had regrouped, Duncan was in the midst of hurling a court-length pass to Ginobili for an easy layup at the other end.

Welcome to Friday night football, Spurs style.

"I just obeyed orders and the defensive balance was not good, so I was just wide open,'' Ginobili said after the Spurs' 96-80 win over the Kings on Friday. "Yeah, he gave me a look. He's a big football fan.''

The long pass with 4:43 left in the first half that put the Spurs up 40-21 wasn't the only time the game looked like it should have been played on Astroturf. Spurs point guard Tony Parker went down hard at least three times in the first half. He also got into the passing game, throwing one out of bounds and into the second row of courtside seats.

Despite that error, the Spurs remained unbeaten. They are 3-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when they finished with the best record in the league.

The Kings, currently without Mike Bibby and Ron Artest, have yet to win a game this season. They never led Friday and were down by as many as 29.

Duncan and Tony Parker had 15 points apiece. Offseason addition Ime Udoka had 14 points, including three 3-pointers, for San Antonio. Fabricio Oberto and Duncan each had 10 rebounds.

Kevin Martin scored 22 points for the Kings, followed by John Salmons with 14 points and nine rebounds. Brad Miller finished with 13 points.

The Spurs were up 17-10 after one quarter and 50-23 at the half. The Kings shot just 7-of-36 in the first half (19 percent).

"Under 20 percent from the field is not easy to do,'' Ginobili said.

The Kings set franchise record-lows for points scored in the half and for fewest field goals made in the first half. The previous lows were set in 1957 and 1987, respectively.

"Sure, they're frustrated, they don't like to play like that,'' said Sacramento coach Reggie Theus. "But there's nothing we can do about it except just keep fighting hard. That's it.''

While the Kings were shooting poorly early, the Spurs were playing with energy.

On the possession after Duncan's football throw, he blocked Francisco Garcia's shot, leading to a 3-pointer from Ginobili that put the Spurs up by 22 points.

Martin led the Kings with 11 points in the third quarter as the Kings outscored San Antonio 31-21.

"We had a pretty serious conversation in the locker room,'' Theus said. "The guys have to understand that you can't hide, you cannot hide on the floor, you've got to be accountable.''

Martin's fast-break layup off an assist from Salmons cut the Spurs' lead to 19 with 30 seconds left in the period. Salmons followed with a basket to make it 71-54 heading into the fourth.

"Second half, we had to show some kind of pride. We can't let them just continue to just trample all over us,'' Salmons said. "Tomorrow, just got to forget about this game, and just come out with a lot of energy.''

Sacramento plays the Mavericks in Dallas on Saturday.

The Kings got within 71-56 early in the fourth, but back-to-back 3s from Brent Barry and Udoka pushed the Spurs back to an 81-60 lead with 8:09 to play.

Matt Bonner had 13 points for San Antonio. Ginobili finished with 10.

While the Spurs are off to a good start, coach Gregg Popovich still has a few things to figure out, including his bench rotation.

"I feel very uncomfortable,'' he said. "I have no clue on how to sub them.''

On Friday, his star players gave him the chance to tinker a little bit, with most of them sitting out much of the fourth quarter.

After starting dismally, Sacramento finished 29-of-75 from the field (39 percent). It wasn't too much worse than the Spurs, who went 31-of-75 (41 percent.)

"Still want to see more than 39 percent for the game,'' Miller said. "You just got to try to build on the things. You know, look at the second half, why did we do better.''

Guard Beno Udrih, who was traded on Monday to Minnesota, then signed with Sacramento after the Timberwolves waived him, did not dress while still recovering from a broken left index finger he got last month during Spurs training camp.

Udrih won two rings with the Spurs, including last season, when he lost his spot as backup point guard to Tony Parker after Jacque Vaughn took over.

Notes: Popovich gave Udrih his championship ring before tip-off Friday. ... The Spurs were 4-0 against the Kings last season. ... Duncan has four 20-20 games against the Kings, more than against any other opponent. ... The Kings also outscored the Spurs in the fourth quarter, 26-25. ... The Spurs hit 12 3-pointers, including three each from Udoka and Bonner, and two from Michael Finley. ... The Spurs outrebounded the Kings 50-35.