Lakers-Kings Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 26 2011 11:51AM

Despite an injured wrist, Kobe Bryant nearly led the Los Angeles Lakers to an impressive season-opening victory.

The Lakers' recent success against the Sacramento Kings lends reason to believe they have a solid chance to bounce back quickly from a tough loss.

Los Angeles continues its stretch of three games in as many days Monday night when it visits Sacramento for the Kings' opener.

Bryant tore a ligament in his right wrist in the first of the Lakers' two preseason games and had to sit out the second one, but he played through the discomfort to score 28 points in Sunday's 88-87 loss to Chicago.

He added a team-high six assists, but his eighth turnover came with about 17 seconds remaining and allowed Derrick Rose to score the winning bucket with 4.8 seconds left.

The Lakers erased a seven-point halftime deficit and held Chicago to 25.0 percent shooting in the second half, but they also blew an 11-point lead in the final four minutes.

"I saw a lot of positive things," Bryant said. "Defensively, we were terrific. We did a good job, and we're just going to get better. We're going to be very good defensively."

The loss spoiled the Lakers coaching debut of Mike Brown, who said he was happy with his team's performance up until the final few minutes.

"We played pretty good basketball until right down the stretch," said Brown, whose squad also will play Tuesday night at home against Utah. "There were a lot of things that went wrong down the stretch where we didn't quite finish the game."

Los Angeles hopes for a better result Monday when it looks for its 10th win in 11 tries against Sacramento.

Bryant has averaged 33.3 points in his last seven games versus the Kings, who seek a big turnaround after going 24-58 and missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

Their fans may be happy just to have a team. Declining attendance and an aging arena had ownership flirting with a move to Anaheim this offseason, but the Kings remain in California's capital city for at least one more season – and with higher expectations.

Sacramento is thinking playoffs with a healthy Tyreke Evans, a slimmer DeMarcus Cousins, explosive scorer Marcus Thornton and rookie sharpshooter Jimmer Fredette.

Evans averaged 17.8 points last season, down from 20.1 as a rookie, and also missed 25 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, but he's hoping to lead the Kings up and down the floor quickly this year.

"I think it's going to be an interesting season," Evans said. "We're going to try to run teams out of the gym."

That might be easier with Cousins coming to camp in better shape and with a positive attitude. He took his lumps as a rookie and questioned his role at times, but the big man finished with averages of 14.1 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds.

"I know what to expect now, so it's not as much pressure," Cousins said. "Last year, I came in with a lot of pressure. A lot of people were looking for me to save the team and this and that. But I'm a lot more relaxed now and having fun, and we're going to play ball and win."

The latter part of that statement may be the most difficult. The Kings play in the highly competitive Western Conference, where the No. 8 seed in 2010-11 had 46 wins.

Sacramento hasn't finished above .500 since 2005-06 – the team's last postseason appearance.

"Pretty much everybody has improved, so we've got to try to jump over several of those teams. And we think we can," coach Paul Westphal said. "I know we're going to be better, but who are we going to jump over? That's why they play the games. We'll find out."

Sacramento played the Lakers tough last season despite losing three of four meetings. The Kings upset Los Angeles on the road 100-95 on Jan. 28 behind 27 points and 10 rebounds from Cousins.

The last meeting April 13 went to overtime before the Lakers won 116-108, as Bryant scored 36 points. That was their ninth victory in 10 trips to Sacramento since 2007.

Kings open season with 100-91 win over Lakers

By JOSH DUBOW
Posted Dec 27 2011 1:56AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) For Sacramento fans, just seeing their Kings on the court was a victory after all the talk of moving at the end of last season.

Beating the hated Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener only made it sweeter.

Marcus Thornton scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Kings beat the Lakers at home for the first time in more than three years, 100-91 on Monday night.

"It was nice to be back," coach Paul Westphal said. "It was wild in there and our players really liked the feeling of that game. The fans were just fantastic."

Tyreke Evans added 20 points, John Salmons had 13 and DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who had lost nine of 10 to the Lakers and five straight at home.

"It's not a rivalry," Kobe Bryant said. "We beat them every year. Oh my God. I don't care if they beat us tonight. I like (Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof). I hope they enjoy this."

Bryant scored 29 points and Metta World Peace added 19 for the Lakers, who opened the season with consecutive losses for the first time since 2002-03, putting a damper on the start of new coach Mike Brown's tenure.

"We have a lot of games left, a lot of games left," World Peace said. "Everything is going OK. Everything will be great."

Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette entered to a loud ovation midway through the first quarter and then committed a double dribble the first time he touched the ball.

Otherwise, it was nothing but a positive start to the season for the Kings, who didn't even know if they would be in Sacramento after ending last season with an overtime loss at home to the Lakers.

But the city got a reprieve when the team decided to stay for at least one more season instead of moving to Anaheim. That has led to newfound optimism that an emerging roster of young and athletic playmakers can return the Kings to prominence and the city can build a new arena to keep the team here for the long term.

"These fans are unbelievable," newly acquired forward Chuck Hayes said. "I thought they were loud on TV. I thought they were loud as an away player and I think they're even louder as a home player. It was just a great moment."

The game was especially satisfying for Hayes, who got a major scare earlier this month when he failed a physical because of a heart abnormality. He then went to see specialists at the Cleveland Clinic and was cleared to play, leading the Kings to sign him once again. Hayes had seven points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes.

"'Chuck Hayes is the glue of this team," Westphal said. "We knew he would be the glue when we signed him and he shows it every day. It was a phenomenal effort for Chuck with what he's been through."

The Kings went on an 11-0 run around halftime and then put together a strong finish to the third quarter led by Cousins. Playing with four fouls, Cousins scored eight points in the final 3:20 of the third to give Sacramento a 78-64 lead heading into the fourth.

Thornton scored seven of the Kings' first nine points of the fourth as Sacramento maintained its lead. But six straight points by World Peace helped the Lakers cut it to 89-87 with 4:24 to play.

Thornton hit a 3-pointer to give the Kings some breathing room and Hayes had a key block on Pau Gasol leading to two free throws by Evans. The Lakers never got the deficit to less than five points after that. Thornton's jumper made it 99-89 with 1:10 to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"We stayed the course," Thornton said. "We didn't get riled up. When they were making that run, we shot a couple of quick shots. We got back to doing what we do best."

Los Angeles doesn't have to wait long to get a chance for its first win in this lockout-compacted season, as the Lakers host Utah on Tuesday night with their third game in three nights to open the season.

"Everyone is going to have to play three straight games and we will have to find a way through this," Brown said. "We have had a lot of practice, followed by a long day today, but everyone has to go through it as well."

The Kings took a 49-40 halftime lead, holding the Lakers to 36.4 percent shooting including an uncharacteristic 4-for-13 performance from Bryant.

Sacramento even had success matching 5-foot-9 rookie Isaiah Thomas on Bryant on a few possessions in the second quarter despite a 9-inch height disadvantage. After missing a turnaround jumper over the shorter Thomas, Bryant could only manage to chuckle on his way back down the court.

Notes: The Kings have won six straight home openers. ... Mayor Kevin Johnson, who helped keep the Kings in Sacramento this season, was presented a jersey from the Maloofs. ... Bryant got called for a technical foul in the third quarter when he threw his hands in frustration after being fouled on a dunk attempt by J.J. Hickson.

Lakers-Kings notebook

By James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday December 27, 2011 1:46AM

THE FACTS: The Sacramento Kings handed the Los Angeles Lakers a 100-91 defeat in front of a loud and ruckus, sell-out home crowd. Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 29 points, but the Kings' backcourt of Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton answered with a combined 47 points on the night.

QUOTABLE: "Chuck Hayes is the glue of this team. We knew he would be the glue when we signed him and he shows it everyday."
-- Coach Paul Westphal

THE STAT: Outside of Bryant, the three other guards to play in the Lakers' backcourt combined for six points on 3-for-18 shooting, including 0-for-6 from 3-point range in just under 57 minutes of action.

TURNING POINT: With 5:59 remaining in the third quarter and the Kings leading 61-55, the Lakers' Pau Gasol picked up his fourth foul trying to draw a charge on J.J. Hickson. Without an interior threat, the Kings went on to outscore the Lakers 17-9 in the final six minutes of the third to take a 78-64 score into the fourth quarter.

GOOD MOVE: Westphal giving rookie Isaiah Thomas some early burn against Lakers guard Steve Blake. Thomas was fearless, going right at Blake on multiple possessions, coming away with five points and two assists in 13 minutes of play. ... Coach Mike Brown's decision to play Matt Barnes after a DNP-CD on Sunday. Barnes is a Sacramento native and gave the Lakers a tremendous boost with his toughness.

BAD MOVE: Westphal choosing Travis Outlaw to defend Metta World Peace. The hoopster formally known as Ron Artest gave Outlaw fits to the tune of 19 points, on 8-for-14 shooting.

NOTABLE: Jimmer Fredette scored the first basket of his career with 1:36 left in the first quarter. The BYU product scored six points and dished out three assists in 26 minutes on the night.

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Tuesday vs.Utah, Thursday vs. New York, Saturday vs. Denver; For the Kings, Tuesday @ Portland, Thursday vs. Chicago, Saturday vs. New York.

• Lakers: Caracter, Morris
• Kings: Whiteside

• Lakers: Bryant, Gasol
• Kings: Cousins

• Lead Changes: 15
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #56 Mark Ayotte, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 17317
• Duration: 2:19