Sacramento 93, Toronto 86

Las Vegas, July 12 – The Sacramento Kings defeated the Toronto Raptors, 93-86, in the first of four games during the second day of competition at the 2008 NBA Summer League Presented by EA Sports at the COX Pavilion on the campus of UNLV.

Sacramento had four players finish in double figures, led by Spencer Hawes’23 points. Other notable scorers were Quincy Douby with 20, Shelden Williams with 16, and Jason Thompson with 12.

“It felt good to be out there playing in a real game again,” said Spencer Hawes, a second-year player for the Kings. “It took a little bit, but I got comfortable again and I just tried to assert myself.”

The first quarter finished with the two teams knotted within two points, 25-23 with the Raptors on top. At the end of the half, six ties had been recorded between the clubs, with Toronto owning a one-point lead; 44-43. Raptor Joey Graham led all scorers in the half with 15 points, while Hawes led his squad with 14 points.

The third quarter was tight the whole way, with the Raptors holding a slight lead until Sacramento guard Sean Singletary converted an and-one with 1:36 remaining to tie the game at 62 then take the lead with the free throw. The period finished with the Kings holding onto a 68-66 advantage.

Sacramento started off the 4th quarter with a 7-0 run to give them their biggest lead of the game at 75-66. Toronto cut the deficit down to three, 86-83, with just under a minute remaining, but an emphatic put-back dunk by Hawes sealed the deal for the Kings.

Toronto was led by Joey Graham who finished with 24 points and Jaycee Carroll who tallied 14 in the loss.

“I thought we played really hard - it was a physical game,” said Raptors Summer League head coach Eric Hughes. “They have four first round draft picks on their team and I think that showed a little bit with the way they were physical. Not that we weren’t ready for it and not that we didn’t compete, but ultimately that caught up to us at the end.”

Next up: Toronto returns to action to face the Denver Nuggets on Monday July 14, while Sacramento faces the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, July 15.