Peja Stojakovic scored 17 points and Chris Webber grabbed 14 rebounds as the Kings cruised to a season-opening 94-67 rout over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Bobby Jackson's Kings wore new uniforms, but looked like the same dangerous team which pushed the Lakers to the brink. Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images |
It was a rough start for both teams as turnovers were the norm in the opening quarter. The Kings had just eight points after 7 1/2 minutes but rebounded for a 19-14 lead after one period.
"The jerseys were confusing us," Vlade Divac joked. "We usually wear white jerseys at home. We were passing to white jerseys; that's why there were a lot of turnovers."
Sacramento opened a 44-32 halftime advantage by limiting Cleveland to 28 percent shooting (11-of-38). A basket by Hedo Turkoglu triggered a 12-4 run in the third quarter that gave the Kings a commanding 66-42 bulge.
That run also began what resembled an organized scrimmage the rest of the way as Sacramento continued to coast despite playing without its starting backcourt of Mike Bibby and Doug Christie. Bibby is out for almost 20 games with a broken foot while Christie began serving his two-game suspension for his part in a fight with Los Angeles Lakers forward Rick Fox last Friday.
"I don't know what was going on in the first quarter," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Both teams looked like they hadn't played before. We got the first one out of the way and we moved on."
There was little fight from the rebuilding Cavaliers, who traded away their three leading scorers from last season. Ricky Davis scored 17 points and Darius Miles made just 6-of-22 shots for 13 in his debut for short-handed Cleveland, which was held to its lowest total in a season opener.
"I had a lot of shots in the paint that I missed," Miles said. "I played bad, but I gave my team all I could. Things are gonna be like that, it's going to be an up and down season. It's gonna be a long season."
The Cavaliers were without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was serving a one-game suspension for a DUI incident. Assistant Jerry Eaves served as coach with John Lucas sitting out a two-game ban for illegally working out high school players, including potential top draft pick LeBron James.
"My players played really hard, stayed in the game," Eaves said. "They just didn't have enough firepower to score, which we knew would be a problem."
The Kings' defense was spearheaded by a huge game from newcomer Keon Clark, who scored eight points, grabbed nine boards and had five blocks. Sacramento's 10 blocks matched last season's high.
The points were the fewest allowed by the Kings since moving to Sacramento in 1985.
Damon Jones had a strong debut for the Kings with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and fellow reserve Gerald Wallace added 15. Turkoglu was the only other player in double figures with 13 and Webber scored nine.
"I felt very comfortable," Jones said. "Guys were fighting and fortunately for me I was getting open shots and they were going in."
Tyrone Hill collected 10 points and 11 rebounds and Miles also had a double-double with 10 boards. Jumaine Jones, who was traded to Sacramento during the offseason before the deal was rescinded, made 6-of-8 shots for 12 points and was the only Cavalier to shoot over 50 percent.







