Ron was an absolute beast in the second half, not only on the offensive end but playing defense as well.
 “Bibby's a tough cover for us. He’s got the ability to change direction and beat guys. We look at the film sometimes on how he gets to do it and the end result is that he gets into the paint and creates problems.” -Mike Dunleavy  Ron Artest's unbelievable three-pointer to tie the game with a minute and a half to go in the game swung all the momentum back towards the Kings. The fact that he triple-clutched the ball before shooting it was even more amazing  Free Throws: Sacramento 23-36 LA Clippers 14-17 |
by Devin Blankenship | April 7, 2006 | Kings @ LA Clippers
Bizarro…
At this point, it’s just bizarre more than anything else. The Los Angeles Clippers, who are one of the best teams in the NBA and have beaten every team in the league, from the elite to the lottery-bound, for some reason have some mojo keeping them from procuring a victory over the incredible roller coaster known as the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento has now beaten the Clippers 13 straight times spanning over three seasons and is 27-5 against LA going back to the ’99-’00 campaign. The thing is that there is no incredible reason why the Kings have the Clipper’s number, it just keeps happening. Sort of like Bill Murray waking up over and over in the same spot in Groundhog Day.
Most of the times the games are incredibly close, like Friday’s, with the Kings somehow managing to pull it out in the end. It’s just one of those wacky things that you thank your lucky stars if you’re a Kings fan that you’re not on the other end of it.
Random Thoughts…
Bizarro…
At this point, it’s just bizarre more than anything else. The Los Angeles Clippers, who are one of the best teams in the NBA and have beaten every team in the league, from the elite to the lottery-bound, for some reason have some mojo keeping them from procuring a victory over the incredible roller coaster known as the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento has now beaten the Clippers 13 straight times spanning over three seasons and is 27-5 against LA going back to the ’99-’00 campaign. The thing is that there is no incredible reason why the Kings have the Clipper’s number, it just keeps happening. Sort of like Bill Murray waking up over and over in the same spot in Groundhog Day.
Most of the times the games are incredibly close, like Friday’s, with the Kings somehow managing to pull it out in the end. It’s just one of those wacky things that you thank your lucky stars if you’re a Kings fan that you’re not on the other end of it.
Random Thoughts…
- It’s amazing what three points can do. Three points ended up being difference for the Kings between returning to Sacramento on Friday night, spirits high, tied with the Lakers for the seventh playoff spot versus coming home dejected with both Utah and New Orleans gaining a game and nipping at the Kings’ heels.
- Mike Bibby and Kenny Thomas may be smelling out of their mouths for the next few days. Both players got drilled in their noses late in the game, with Kenny’s injury actually taking him out of the game. Mike got hit right in the schnoz by Elton Brand with nine seconds left in the game.
- Ron Artest didn’t just double-clutch, he triple-clutched that crucial three-point shot that tied the game with a minute and a half to go in the game.
- Rebounding almost ended up causing the Kings to lose—the board bugaboo returned after the Kings seemed to fix the problem in San Antonio. The Clippers had way too many chances, sometimes three or four opportunities to get a basket.
- If you’re the Clippers, the loss really doesn’t really end up hurting their playoff outlook. That fifth playoff spot is something no one covets, with either the Spurs or Mavs awaiting in the first round. LA has a slim half-game lead for that fifth spot over the Grizzlies, who also lost on Friday.
- For those of you counting, that’s five of six for the Kings on the road and five of six overall. Maybe more incredibly, Sacramento went 3-1 during this monstrous stretch against the Clippers, Spurs, and Mavs.
- I’m still trying to find out where Brad fouled Cuttino Mobley on that drive to the basket that sent the former King to the line with 17 seconds left.
- How much respect does Rick Adelman have for Sam Cassell? He put Ron Artest on the point guard in the final minute to keep the cool-as-ice Cassell from getting off a shot.
- Best wishes and good luck to my boy and Clippers.com web guru David Callanan, who after all his hard work will miss out on the Clips run through the playoffs…we’ll miss you buddy. Have a Guinness for me.
You can e-mail Devin Blankenship at fanmail@kingsbball.com
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