The AP reports: Ron Artest scored 19 points against his former Sacramento teammates to help the Rockets beat the Kings 110-97 on Thursday night in the final preseason game for both teams. Yao Ming left the game early in the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Houston (5-2). Tracy McGrady, playing only his second exhibition game, added 14 points in 33 minutes… Aaron Brooks added 15 points for the Rockets and Luther Head had 13. In his best game as a professional, second-year center Spencer Hawes had 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings (1-7), who lost their sixth straight. Kevin Martin added 22 points, John Salmons had 16 and rookie Jason Thompson 10.
Category: Sacramento Kings Blog
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Kings waive two players
The Sacramento Kings today requested waivers on forwards Noel Felix and Bobby Jones, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie. The Kings’ updated roster now stands at 14 players.
The NBA’s maximum is 15 players, so the Kings don’t have to get rid of anyone else.
Oct 20: Blazers 112, Kings 98
The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points, Brandon Roy added 21 and the Portland Trail Blazers never trailed in a 112-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game Monday night. The Kings could not contain Aldridge, who made nine of 16 shots and had six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Blazers. Portland led by four points after three quarters and stretched the lead to as many as 11 in the fourth. Rookie guard Rudy Fernandez made four 3-pointers and had 16 points for the Blazers, while Greg Oden added 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Portland made 12 of 25 3-pointers. Kevin Martin scored 34 points and John Salmons added 27 for the Kings, who lost their fifth straight.
Oct 18: Mavs 124, Kings 109
The AP reports: Gerald Green scored 29 points and Josh Howard had 25 to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 124-109 preseason victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and Brandon Bass had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks (4-2). Green went 10-for-12 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point range, in only 20 minutes. Kevin Martin led the Kings (1-5) with 26 points.
Oct 17: Rockets 95, Kings 90
The AP reports: Ron Artest hurried to the Sacramento locker room after scoring 13 points in the Houston Rockets’ 95-90 win over the Kings in a preseason game on Friday night… Yao Ming scored 15 points in 27 minutes before twisting his right ankle and leaving for good with 3:07 left in the third quarter. Coach Rick Adelman said Yao was also fighting a cold… Aaron Brooks scored 23 points in McGrady’s place and Luis Scola grabbed 10 rebounds for Houston. Artest played only 18 minutes, all in the first half… Kevin Martin scored 19 points and Brad Miller had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who shot 37.5 percent (30-for-80) and went 3-for-15 from 3-point range.
Kings exercise option on Spencer Hawes
The Sacramento Kings today picked up the option on forward Spencer Hawes for the 2009-10 campaign, it was announced by Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.
Hawes, currently in his second NBA season, was selected by Sacramento in the first round (10th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft as an undergraduate out of Washington. He averaged 4.7 points (.459 FGs, .190 3FGs, .655 FTs) and 3.2 rebounds as a rookie last season.
Oct 15: Clippers 116, Kings 112
The AP reports: Kevin Martin scored 29 points in less than 22 minutes for Sacramento, but rookie Eric Gordon scored 33 points and led the Los Angeles Clippers’ fourth-quarter rally for a 116-112 victory over the Kings in an exhibition game Wednesday night… Fellow rookie Mike Taylor had another impressive game with 21 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who are unbeaten in three exhibition games. Cuttino Mobley added 17 points and Jelani McCoy had 12 for Los Angeles, which held the Kings scoreless after Bobby Jackson’s free throw with 2:54 to play.
Oct 12: Lakers 94, Kings 89
The AP reports: Pau Gasol had 12 points and six rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 94-89 in exhibition play Sunday night… Los Angeles built its largest advantage at 84-72 with 5:25 left. The Kings cut it 92-89 with 36 seconds to go, but got no closer.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 4-of-12) had 9 points. Andrew Bynum had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Vladimir Radmanovic had 9 with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Lamar Odom, coming off the bench, had 4 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. For the Kings, Jason Thompson came off the bench to put up 15 points and 8 rebounds. Brad Miller had 10 points and 4 rebounds. John Salmons (just 4-of-15) had 11 points and 3 steals. Off the bench, Spencer Hawes had 6 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Oct 10: Kings 94, Thunder 85
The AP reports: Rookie Bobby Brown scored 22 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-85 in a preseason game Friday night… Spencer Hawes had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (1-1), while John Salmons had 16 points and Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia both had eight. Shelden Williams added seven points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green led Oklahoma City, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics, with 19 points, including eight in the fourth quarter when the Thunder pulled within one point. Damien Wilkins had 14 points, Desmond Mason scored 10 and Johan Petro added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Kings waive Zhang Kai
The Sacramento Kings Wednesday requested waivers on free agent center Zhang Kai. The Kings’ updated roster now stands at 16 players.
All I know about Kai is that he’s tall and not particularly good.