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They'll get that and plenty more on Friday night, when the Seattle SuperSonics and the Kings move their best-of-seven series to Sacramento for Game 3 (7:30 p.m., KONG 6/16).

ARCO Arena has a well earned reputation as one of the league's most difficult places to play, if not the most difficult, because of a college-like atmosphere with raucous fans sitting close to the court and, yes, banging cowbells.

"It seems like the crowd is on top of your head," said Sonics reserve Danny Fortson after the team's Wednesday practice. "There's the cowbells, the fans are crazy. It's like a high school gym."

Sonics Coach Nate McMillan was willing to place ARCO on a short list of potentially intimidating NBA arenas.

"There's the cowbells, the fans are crazy. It's like a high school gym." Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty

"Sacramento could be one of those arenas, because you know it's going to be loud, you know it's going to be a sellout crowd," said McMillan. "The Kings are Sacramento. That's what they live for down there, and those people are really serious about a basketball team. It will be really loud come Friday night."

The Kings enjoy relatively unparalleled loyalty in Sacramento. Their streak of 267 sellouts at ARCO, dating back to the middle of the 1999-00 season, is the longest active one in the NBA. From the time the Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985 to the 1997-98 season, they sold out 497 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in NBA history. That might not be meaningful if all those fans sat on their hands, but they are passionate supporters of the home team.

"We're definitely the enemy when we come into that building," said Ray Allen. "They watched their team get beat the last two games, and they're going to try to inflict that same beating on us from a crowd point of view. Definitely, they'll get a warm ovation and get them going like at home."

Sacramento's home-court advantage has translated into at least 30 wins at home each of the last five seasons. In the playoffs, the Kings are 19-10 at home since 1999, 11-17 on the road. Last year, they were 5-1 at ARCO, 2-4 on the road. So, even though Sacramento trails the series 2-0, the Kings will still be confident with the home crowd now behind them.

"I'm sure they have a lot more confidence at home, because that's what Adelman teaches: Protect the home court," said Sonics center Jerome James.

James is one of several Sonics players who should know about ARCO Arena during the postseason. He played for Sacramento in 1998-99 and was on the roster in 1999-00 as the Kings made playoff appearances both seasons. Mateen Cleaves was a part of the Sacramento teams that went to the Western Conference Finals in 2002 and reached the Semifinals in 2003.

"I think they depend on the crowd," said Cleaves. "They can play on the road also, but I think they're a lot better team at home because of the fan support they do have. It's a great place to play, great atmosphere. Especially when I was there, we just fed off the crowd."

Fortson is the only Sonics player who has been on the other side, as part of the Dallas Mavericks team that lost in five games to the Kings last year in the first round. (Fortson did not see any action in the series.) But the Sonics also have someone else who has played a playoff game at ARCO, McMillan, who helped the 1996 Sonics to two wins in Sacramento en route to the NBA Finals.

"For me, it was fun, because it was always warm, you knew it was going to be a sellout crowd, they liked to play up and down and we liked to play that way," recalled McMillan. "So it was an exciting place."

As much as they respect the Kings and the power of ARCO Arena, the Sonics are confident because of the success they've had this season away from KeyArena. The Sonics 26-15 road record tied the best mark in franchise history and was equal to their home record. The Sonics have not been intimidated by the road this season, and don't plan for that to change.

"It will be good to get this team down on the road," said Antonio Daniels. "We've played well on the road throughout the course of this season and when we take that us against the world mentality, we play well and we play together."

Besides, not everyone on the Sonics dislikes the atmosphere at ARCO.

"Cowbells? I like cowbells," said Vladimir Radmanovic. "I think we should have more cowbells."