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

The Sacramento Kings hosted the streaking Dallas Mavericks, who were riding a 10-game winning streak going into Wednesday night's game. The Kings fought valiantly to erase an 11-point deficit, but Jason Terry and José Barea helped spark the Mavs to an 11th straight victory, beating the Kings 102-100. Terry stepped up off the bench in the wake of Dirk Nowitzki’s poor shooting night by scoring a game-high 20 points. Barea, who averages nine points per game from the bench, scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help hold off the Kings. “He’s one of the quickest players in the league,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said of Barea. “He can shoot. They set a lot of screens for him. He

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

The San Antonio Spurs got off to a quick start against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, allowing them to coast to a 113-100 victory at Arco Arena. The Spurs entered the game with the best record in the NBA and showed the Kings why. They jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game, and continued to knock down open shots. The Spurs seemed to do everything right in the first quarter, using good of ball movement and making their shots to take a 34-19 lead after one quarter of play. “I thought they put on a clinic in the first quarter against us. After that, we were just trying to play catch-up the rest of the game and they're too good to do that against,” said Kings he

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

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

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

It was the first home game of the new year. A fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to recapture the home team magic. As the opponent was another revamped version of the run-and-gun Suns, the Kings would have their hands full trying to keep Phoenix's mad bombers at bay. With some great defensive pressure in the final quarter and the outstanding play of rookie DeMarcus Cousins – playing like a larger version of last year’s rookie of the year, Tyreke Evans – the Kings provided another fantastic fourth-quarter comeback and held on to beat the Suns 89-84 at Arco Arena on Sunday evening. It was a slow start for the Kings as the Suns’ Mickael Pietrus (7 points, 4 rebounds) and Steve Nash (20

Please don’t kill the messenger. Yes, the story is one you’ve read before. One you’ve read way too often this hoops season. The Sacramento Kings carry a lead into the final quarter and suddenly the offense stops moving and the team seemingly forgets it’s true mission: Beating a team they should beat on the home floor. After a back and forth battle, the Kings give another game away as the offense stalls and the players look like they abruptly forget how to execute the essentials as they lose to the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 84-79 on Thursday night. This was the first game for the team after Coach Westphal decided to start Samuel Dalembert instead of DeMarcus Cousins after the “choke sign

Young patients at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento received a King-sized holiday surprise Sunday afternoon from some special guests. Kings players DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Luther Head, Kings mascot Slamson, members of the Sacramento Kings Dance Team, Regional Vice President of Wells Fargo and Kings Ambassador Chevo Ramirez and Wells Fargo Vice President of Marketing Rick Cwynar teamed up to visit children and families at the Shriners Hospital for Children and host a Kings Pizza Party. Amidst the energetic music and festive atmosphere, the young patients received autographs, took photos and spent quality time socializing with their newfound friends

Mama said there’d be days like this. During the long NBA season, there are games where a team will come up short but still feel they’ve played a good game. Saturday’s Kings game against the Mavericks was one of those games. Close — oh so close — but no cigar. In a game where the Sacramento Kings led most of the way until the final moments, the home team couldn’t get off the game-tying shot in time as they let a nine-point lead with 5:24 left in the game slowly disappear, and the Dallas Mavericks pulled out the win 105-103 at Arco Arena. Tyreke Evans (25 points, five boards and eight assists) played possibly his best overall game of the young season by hitting open shots, including three

    ►►► GAME COVERAGE ►►► FOLLOWED BY GAME NOTES ►►► FOLLOWED BY COMMENTARY   ♦ THE GAME The ordeal is over. The Kings finally won a game. Avenging their lone loss in the 3-game road trip that opened their season, the Kings beat the New Jersey Nets at Arco Friday night, 86 - 81. The Kings had played New Jersey in the second game of the season. In that game, they had fallen behind by 18 points, but surged in the 3rd quarter and actually held an 8 point lead with less than 4 minutes to play. Sadly, New Jersey outscored the Kings 17 - 3 in the final 3:41, and won going away. Having started the season by taking 2 out of 3 road games, the Kings had returned to Sacramento feeling confiden

It seemed like a perfect opportunity for the Kings.  You know, take advantage of a tired, worn out Memphis team who were not only coming off a double-overtime loss the night before, but catch them on their fourth game in five nights. Even though Sacramento head coach Paul Westphal told his team before the game that he didn't believe in that mumbo jumbo, the team from Tennessee grabbed an early lead and rarely looked back as the Kings lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 100-91. “I never bought into that stuff,” Westphal said in the postgame press conference. “We won’t use that as an excuse if that happens to us, and it doesn’t mean we’re supposed to win because they played last night. This is

Could the Kings start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2000? That was the question on every Kings fan’s mind entering the game in New Jersey as the Kings took on the Nets (1-0). Unfortunately, the answer for those nonstop cheering Kings fans back home was no as the Kings faltered at the end by having too many big men in foul trouble and missing big shots. The Kings lost a close one 106-100. Even though the Kings scored the first bucket, a long jumper by DeMarcus Cousins, it was the Nets who started the quarter hot as Carl Landry missed several shots and seemed out of sorts until he was substituted halfway through the quarter. Brook Lopez, the young outstanding center for the Nets,

With two of last year’s promising rookies – Minnesota’s Jonny Flynn and last year’s Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans – not suited up, the first game of the season seemed to hinge on their replacements. Francisco Garcia handled the shooting guard duties for the missing Evans and Luke Ridnour the point guard responsibilities for Flynn, who is recovering from hip surgery. Even though both came through for their respective teams, it was the Kings who finished off the Timberwolves 117-116 to win a road game that went down to the wire. Garcia finished with 22 points, three rebounds, four assists, three steals and hit both of his three attempts. Garcia had 21 of his 22 by the end of the third,

The wait is over. The off-season is behind them. The up-and-coming Kings are primed and ready to pounce on opponents this season, giving weight to the slogan – Here We Rise. The Sacramento Kings take to the hardwood Wednesday in their season opener as they travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves, embarking on a three-game road trip. HERE – Sactown is their home Even following year after year of speculation that the team will somehow abandon our little town for the riches of Las Vegas or the South Bay or even back to the familiar Kansas/Missouri border has never materialized, the arena situation and the current economic crunch continues to put the topic back in the spotlight and det

With the Kings down Beno Udrih and Samuel Dalembert out and the small forward position up for grabs, Coach Paul Westphal is still searching for a winning starting lineup. The Golden State Warriors held it close for three quarters Tuesday, but it was the Kings who secured their second preseason win by pulling away in the final period to win 116-97 at Arco Arena. The Kings had six players scoring in double figures and a balanced rebounding effort making for a solid fourth quarter. A three-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter turned into a 22-point lead late in the game thanks to a strong defense and converting turnovers into points. Both teams had stretches of sloppiness, eac

As part of the NBA Cares campaign, “Paint the Town,” the Sacramento Kings will be greeting fans throughout the Sacramento region Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17 to thank them for their support in advance of the 2010-11 Kings season. The entire Kings training camp roster, members of the Sacramento Kings Dance Team, Slamson and the Kings Breakers will interact with the Sacramento community at various locations. Fans are encouraged to attend and players will be available to greet and interact with fans. Additionally, the Kings Karavan, a Kings-branded bus, will be on display at select locations and exciting Kings prizes will be awarded to Kings fans on-site. Following is the fu