[Peja Vu]

[Peja Vu]

Tonight's game: Toronto (34-31) at Kings (29-36)

vs.

Tipoff: 6 p.m.

Where: Arco Arena

TV: CSN NBATV

Radio: KHTK (1140 AM).

Head to head: The Kings are 10-1 against the Raptors in home games and 0-1 against them this season. Their 116-91 debacle in Toronto on Jan. 16 was an anticlimactic ending to the much-anticipated return of Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Both players came off of their prolonged absences from injury and could do nothing to stop the combined 57 points from forward Chris Bosh and reserve guard Carlos Delfino.

Raptors' update: Only in the Eastern Conference can a team lose seven of nine games and not fall out of the playoff race, and Toronto has done just that. Six of those games have come on the road (five losses), and they are in fifth place.

Raptors' injuries: F Chris Bosh (right knee, day-to-day); F Jorge Garbajosa (left ankle, out).

Kings' injuries: PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee surgery, out).

Probable starting lineups

KINGS

19 Beno Udrih PG
23 Kevin Martin SG
93 Ron Artest SF
33 Mikki Moore PF
52 Brad Miller C

RAPTORS

8 J. Calderon PG
18 A. Parker SG
33 J. Moon SF
7 A. Bargnani PF
12 R. Nesterovic C

[Peja Vu]

CWEBB back in the house!

The Game Plan: Golden State (41-24) at Kings (30-36)

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

Where: Arco Arena

TV: CSN

Radio: KHTK (1140 AM)

Head to head: The Kings have yet to beat Golden State this season, falling to the Warriors 103-96 Nov. 28 at Arco and 105-102 Feb. 9 at Oracle Arena. The Warriors have won the last three meetings dating to last season, but the Kings hold the all-time Sacramento-era advantage, 53-46. The Kings are 33-16 against Golden State at Arco.

Warriors update: Golden State enters tonight's matchup having beaten Memphis 110-107 Saturday . Baron Davis leads the Warriors with 22.2 points per game, followed by Stephen Jackson (20.7 ppg) and Monta Ellis (19.6 ppg). The last time the Kings faced the Warriors, Ellis dropped 34 points.

Warriors injuries: PF Chris Webber (sore left knee, day to day); PF Austin Croshere (sore right groin, questionable.)

Kings injuries: SG John Salmons (sprained right ankle, questionable); SF Ron Artest (right elbow stiffness, questionable); C Spencer Hawes (left midfoot strain, questionable); PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee surgery, out).

Probable starters

KINGS

19 Beno Udrih
23 Kevin Martin
93 Ron Artest
33 Mikki Moore
52 Brad Miller

WARRIORS

PG 8 Monta Ellis
SG 5 Baron Davis
SF 1 Stephen Jackson
PF 2 Mickael Pietrus
C 3 Al Harrington

[Peja Vu]

Reallllly short handed tonight. No Udrih, Hawes, Salmons, or Thomas.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs...es/011190.html

[Peja Vu]

Kings win big over the Warriors!

Martin scores 34 points as Kings beat Warriors

The Kings showed they can influence the playoff race, even if they're not in it.

Relishing the role of potential spoilers, the Kings defeated the Warriors 122-105 in front of an announced crowd of 16,245 Tuesday night at Arco Arena.

The Warriors, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, fell behind as many as 23 points in a game that included 54 personal fouls.

Kevin Martin had a game-high 34 points on 13-of-22 shooting for the short-handed Kings. Starting point guard Beno Udrih sat out because of a lower back strain, and rookie center Spencer Hawes nursed a left midfoot sprain.

Ron Artest and John Salmons were listed as questionable before the game, but both played, and Artest finished with 26 points.

Anthony Johnson, who came from Atlanta in the Mike Bibby trade last month, made his first start for the Kings and had 13 points and 13 assists.

The Kings led 61-57 at halftime following an explosive final 3:32, in which they earned applause by grabbing four consecutive rebounds on one possession. Francisco García capped that effort with a layup with 3:06 remaining, and Salmons ended the half with a reverse layup with .2 seconds left.

The Kings poured on the points in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 40-25, and held off a fourth-quarter surge for their fourth victory in five games.

Box Score: Kings 122, Warriors 105

[Peja Vu]

Tonights game: Kings (31-36) at San Antonio (45-23)

Tipoff: 5:30 p.m.

Where: AT&T Center

TV/Radio: 10; KHTK (1140 AM)

Head to head: Former Spurs point guard Beno Udrih helped the Kings break a five-game losing streak to San Antonio on Nov. 26 at Arco Arena, scoring a career-high 27 points in his first game against his old team. The Spurs routed the Kings 96-80 at the AT&T Center on Nov. 2, with Udrih having just signed with the Kings but not yet able to play. The Kings are 14-33 in San Antonio in the Sacramento era.

Spurs update: The Spurs' recent slide has been worse than anything they experienced en route to winning the title last season, when their longest losing streak was three games. San Antonio had lost four games in a row before Thursday night's 102-80 win in Chicago.

Spurs injuries: None.

Kings injuries: SF Ron Artest (right elbow stiffness, right knee soreness, questionable); PG Beno Udrih (lower back strain, questionable), C Brad Miller (right elbow bursitis, questionable); PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee surgery, out)

Probable starting lineups

KINGS
19 Beno Udrih PG
23 Kevin Martin SG
93 Ron Artest SF
33 Mikki Moore PF
52 Brad Miller C

SPURS
9 Tony Parker PG
4 Michael Finley SG
12 Bruce Bowen SF
21 Tim Duncan PF
7 F. Oberto C

[Peja Vu]

Duncan has 21 in Spurs' win

Ron Artest scored 23 points for the Kings - 17 in the first half - and Kevin Martin added 20.

The Kings got as close as a tie in the third quarter, but didn't ever get a lead after Duncan put the Spurs up 14-13 in the opening period.

The Spurs, who before breaking the losing skid had dropped six of their previous seven, have acknowledged they are in a rough spot a month before the playoffs. But two straight wins - albeit against sub-.500 teams - should help restore some confidence before they visit division rival Dallas on Sunday.

They are in sixth in the Western Conference, where just a handful of games separates the top eight teams.

The Kings had won two in a row before the loss, and while not eliminated from playoff contention, are 11th in the West and sit more than 10 games out of eighth place.

Anthony Johnson, who started in place of an injured Beno Udrih, scored 12 points for Sacramento. Jacque Vaughn scored 11 points and Bruce Bowen had 10 for San Antonio.

[Peja Vu]

Tonight's game: Kings (31-37) at Memphis (17-51)

Tipoff: 5 p.m.

Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tenn.

TV/Radio: CSN, KHTK (1140 AM)

Head to head: Herein lies the latest test of the Kings' conflicted nature, as they have already racked up 10 losses to teams with winning percentages of .400 or less, and the Grizzlies are among them. A Feb. 12 loss (107-94) came despite a healthy Kings roster and Memphis notching its first win of the post-Pau Gasol era. The Kings are 13-11 during the Sacramento era when playing in Memphis.

Grizzlies update: Second-year small forward Rudy Gay continues to be a bright spot amid much darkness, as his breakout season has done little to help Memphis' record even if he is a candidate for the league's Most Improved Player award. The Grizzlies have won two consecutive games just once this season and have lost 20 of their past 24 games.

Grizzlies injuries: None.

Kings injuries: PG Beno Udrih (lower back strain, questionable), PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim (right knee surgery, out).

Probable starters

KINGS
5 Anthony Johnson PG
23 Kevin Martin SG
93 Ron Artest SF
33 Mikki Moore PF
52 Brad Miller C

GRIZZLIES

11 Mike Conley PG
2 Juan Carlos Navarro SG
22 Rudy Gay SF
33 Mike Miller PF
31 Darko Milicic C

[Peja Vu]

Grizzlies 67, Kings 56 at the half.

No Artest, Miller or Udrih tonight. Hawes got his first career start and has 13 points and 4 rebounds.

[Peja Vu]

Banged-up Kings fall to Grizzlies

Juan Carlos Navarro scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and the Memphis Grizzlies held on for a 117-111 victory over the Kings on Saturday night.

Rudy Gay scored 24 points, and Darko Milicic had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, which has won consecutive games for only the second time this season. Seven Grizzlies scored in double figures, including all five starters.

Kevin Martin led the Kings with 29 points, and Spencer Hawes had career highs with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Francisco Garcia added 15 points, and John Salmons finished with 12.

Memphis almost squandered an 18-point lead in the second half as Martin led a Kings rally that included a 20-2 run in the third period.

But the Grizzlies never relinquished the advantage, and back-to-back threes from Navarro and Gay gave Memphis a 113-104 lead with 1:35 left.

Three key Kings -- Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Beno Udrih -- sat out with nagging injuries, allowing some of the younger Sacramento players to show some of their talents before the end of the season.

Navarro made six of nine three-pointers for the Grizzlies, who shot 51 percent from the field.

Memphis led 67-56 at halftime. Gay scored 12 in the first half and Milicic added 11.

Hawes, the rookie from Washington who started his first game of the season, scored 13 before the break, while Salmons had all 12 of his points in the first half.

Memphis extended the lead to 18 in the third as Milicic scored eight consecutive points early in the period, part of the Grizzlies' hitting six of their first eight shots.