[narek]

The last road game of this trip:

TEAMS: Bucks (8-11) vs. Sacramento Kings (7-12).

WHEN: 9 tonight.

WHERE: Arco Arena, Sacramento.

BROADCASTS: TV - FSN Wisconsin cable. Radio - AM-620.

ABOUT THE KINGS: Injuries have been the story of the season for the Kings, who are without their two starting guards, Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby. Martin is eighth in the league in scoring (24.5 points per game). The Kings are coming off a 101-97 loss to Denver on Saturday night that dropped their road record to 0-8. It was Sacramento's second straight loss.

PLAYER TO WATCH
BENO UDRIH, Kings

The 6-foot-3 point guard didn't fit in well as a backup in San Antonio but he has been doing a nice job running coach Reggie Theus' system. He is averaging 14.9 points on 45.7% shooting and has made 86.8% of his foul shots. He has started in 11 games and has scored in double figures in 11 of the 13 games in which he has played. The Kings signed Udrih as a free agent on Nov. 1.

LINEUPS
PROBABLE KINGS STARTERS

Player Ht. From
G-Beno Udrih 6-3 Slovenia
G-John Salmons 6-6 Miami
F-Ron Artest 6-7 St. John's
F-Mikki Moore 7-0 Nebraska
C-Brad Miller 7-0 Purdue

Coach: Reggie Theus (first season).

Injury report: Mike Bibby (left thumb), Kevin Martin (right groin) and Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee) are out.

PROBABLE BUCKS STARTERS

Player Ht. From
G-Mo Williams 6-1 Alabama
G-Michael Redd 6-6 Ohio State
F-Desmond Mason 6-5 Okla. State
F-Yi Jianlian 7-0 China
C-Andrew Bogut 7-0 Utah

Coach: Larry Krystkowiak (second season, 13-24).

Injury report: Michael Ruffin (left wrist) and David Noel (wrist) are out. Bobby Simmons (personal) is not with the team.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=694811

[narek]

Sigh. Another close loss. I didn't stay up to watch the end (I hate west coast games), not sure if I can take watching the rest of the game!

Sacramento, Calif. - The Milwaukee Bucks concluded their five-game western trip by faltering down the stretch and losing to the Sacramento Kings, 96-93, Monday night at Arco Arena.

The Bucks won only the first game on the trip and have seen their record fall to 8-12.

The Kings ran off 12 straight points early in the fourth quarter to go ahead, 78-76. The lead changed hands several times after that and the score was tied, 93-93, with 1 minute left.

A layup by Sacramento's Ron Artest broke the tie and Milwaukee's Mo Williams then threw the ball away trying to feed Andrew Bogut in the paint. John Salmons made one free throw with 14.8 seconds left and Michael Redd missed a three-pointer from the deep corner in the closing seconds.

"I had a decent look," Redd said. "I pump-faked and just missed.

"We played well except for that one stretch when they scored 10 or 12 straight points. And that's the game. They hit some big shots and that was the game. We've got to close out games. We did it early in the season, but now we're not."

Redd scored 24 points for the Bucks, who shot 42.9%. Salmons led the Kings with 22 points.

With Redd scoring 16 points, the Bucks led at halftime, 49-47. The Bucks' 49-42 lead with 51 seconds left in the second quarter was the biggest for either team in the first half, but a layup by Artest and a three-pointer by Salmons closed the half

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=695226