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

The long-awaited, lockout-shortened Kings’ season is finally underway as training camp has opened in Natomas at Sacramento’s training facility in the Power Balance Pavilion parking lot. Here are some observations from the second and third day of the two-week training camp. State of the Kings Address Each training camp, Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ President of Basketball Operations, addresses the media to discuss the offseason and his early training camp observations. This year was a lot different for Petrie as he and the staff are having to cram over a months worth of moves, discussions and preparation for the upcoming season in a two-week period. Here are Petrie’s comments regarding vari

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

Sacramento Kings star Tyreke Evans, along with VSP Vision Care, hosted a basketball camp for kids Thursday and Friday. The two-day camp was held for underprivileged kids in the Sacramento area, giving them a chance to meet Evans and have their eyes examined for free in a 41-foot mobile eye clinic brought by VSP Vision Care. The camp was a collaboration among VSP Vision Care’s Diversity Council, Positive Coaching Alliance, Dr. Ephraim Williams Family Life Center and Chris Johnson Basketball Academy. Event co-sponsors Family Life Center and VSP Vision Asian Resources Inc. and the Greater Sacramento Area Urban League selected over 200 kids to attend the camp at the Dr. Ephraim Williams Fami

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

  The Kings huddled with excitement before game 41. Check out my raw footage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgir1JNcFDw    

The Sacramento Kings fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final score of 120-112 on Monday night at Power Balance Pavilion. With the Maloofs' decision on a possible move to Anaheim looming, the Kings came out and played hard for the 15,683 fans that came to show support for their team. Throughout the game, fans could be heard ringing their cowbells while chanting, “SA-CRA-MEN-TO!” and “No L.A., here we stay!” Kings head coach Paul Westphal had positive things to say. “I thought that was a great atmosphere and there was a lot of great NBA basketball out there.” The Kings jumped off to an 8-2 lead in the first couple of minutes of the game, but the Oklahoma City Thunder would come back

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

In a rematch of a game in Denver just two days prior, the Kings were hoping that their newfound cohesiveness would be on full display in trying to get one back from the visiting team. No such luck as the Denver Nuggets pulled away in the second half and never looked back in their defeat of the Kings 99-90 in Sacramento on Friday evening. Make no mistake about it. This was a physical contest. The Nuggets are known for playing that rough, in-your-face, stripping the ball type of irritating defense that tends to get on the opposing players nerves. It was just after halfway through the first quarter when the Denver center Nene (12 points, 12 boards) pushed Tyreke Evan hard to the ground.  Ev

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

It’s an enjoyable new tradition: on every February 28 during this decade (yes...both of them), the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2010, it was by 97-92, while this time around, the final score was 105-99. The event could well be called “Double Throwback Night,” or maybe “The Throwest Back Night Ever.” On one hand, it was Throwback Jersey Night, as the Kings wore uniforms honoring their previous incarnation as the Royals (Rochester Royals, and then Cincinnati Kansas City Royals). More important to the outcome of the game, if not the fate of the franchise itself, it also became Throwback Fan Night. Arco Arena was filled to the brim, just like in the old days, when lovin

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

Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins engineered another solid game Saturday night in Arco Arena, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 102-96 victory over the red-hot New Orleans Hornets. Cousins had 25 points, 12 rebounds and career-high seven assists as the Kings snapped the Hornets' 10-game win streak. The win gave the Kings their first consecutive game win streak since winning the home opener on Nov. 1. The Kings got off to a quick start, shooting 55% from the field in the first quarter to take a 24-22 lead. Cousins and Kings guard Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 10 and nine points, respectively. “Coach said 'we just came from beating the world champs', so we were trying to come out and jump o

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