None of the sell-out crowd which packed Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday night knew precisely what was ending. Was it simply the 2012-2013 season, which ended with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers? Yes, but was it also the very existence of the Sacramento Kings? Possibly. We’ll find out next month when the NBA Board of Governors makes their decision on whether the Kings are sold to an investment group that intends to build a new arena and breathe life into the franchise, or whether the team is sold to a different group who intend to move the team to Seattle, Wash.; kill the franchise; and resurrect the Seattle SuperSonics. The loss itself, 112-108, was relatively easy to take. The game w

When the Memphis Grizzlies played the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon, April 7, the game was meaningful, ugly, exciting and disappointing. Meaningful: Hopelessly out of the playoffs, the Kings are desperate to solidify their recently improved play. Since the All-Star break, they went from 16th to first place in scoring and from near-the-bottom 29th place to 13th place in assists. The game was even more important to Memphis, who are currently seeded fifth for the Western Conference playoffs, but are only one game out of third place. Ugly: At the half, the Kings were shooting 32 percent, had only one fewer turnovers than assists, and yet were leading the Grizzlies. Certainly, there we

Ah, the good old days – when the Sacramento Kings would play the Los Angeles Lakers before screaming, sold-out crowds, tension and excitement filling the air from tipoff to the final buzzer. Perhaps for the last time, those days were here again Saturday night. If the NBA Board of Governors approves the Maloofs’ plan to sell the team and allow the franchise to die (only to be reincarnated as the new Seattle Sonics), then this was the final game of Sacramento’s most intense rivalry. Not only did the Kings start well, but future Hall of Famer Steve Nash re-injured his hip less than two minutes into the game and never returned from the locker room. Just one day earlier, defensive linchpin Me

Golden State Warrior fans expected their team to prevail when the Sacramento Kings came to Oakland for their final match up of the 2012-13 season. Two nights earlier, the Warriors beat the dangerous Lakers. They have also won the season series against the division-leading Clippers, and are anchored by a current All-Star (David Lee), a should-be All-Star (Stephen Curry). After all, Curry is the seventh leading scorer in the NBA, the highest among point guards. His three-point and free throw percentages are both third, both highest among point guards. And he averages almost seven assists per game. Nevertheless, there is something about Kings - Warriors games that transcends logic. The King

The Philadelphia 76ers arrived at the Sleep Train Arena Sunday night hoping to break their streak of 14 consecutive road losses. In contrast, the Sacramento Kings returned home from a Saturday night game in Denver with hopes of breaking their own streak of four consecutive home losses to the Sixers. Guess whose streak was broken. (Hint: the last time the Kings beat the Sixers in Sacramento is still 2006.) The Kings started well and enjoyed a 13-point lead within the first minute of the second quarter. Sadly, Philadelphia, whose 92-point scoring average ranks last in the NBA, scored 36 points in the second quarter and tied the game. Indeed, before the fourth quarter had even begun, the S