GAME THREAD: NBA: SACRAMENTO (4-8) at PORTLAND (4-8)

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NBA: SACRAMENTO (4-8) at PORTLAND (4-8)

<h3>Kings hope to have Artest vs. sliding Blazers</h3>



<div class="pre">Sacramento (4-8) at Portland (4-8) 10:00 pm EST</div>

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) - The Sacramento Kings hope Ron Artestwill be around to make things worse for the sliding PortlandTrail Blazers.


After a one-game absence, Artest hopes to return to theSacramento Kings when they take on the Trail Blazers at the RoseGarden on Friday.


Suspended for the first seven contests this campaign after lastseason's domestic violence dispute, Artest has given thestruggling Kings a much-needed boost since his return.

The 6-7, 246-pound bruiser has averaged 23.5 points, 6.5rebounds and 3.8 assists to go along with his usual defensiveintensity in four games for Sacramento, which won two of thosecontests.


But he did not play in the Kings' 127-111 loss to the PhoenixSuns on Wednesday - leaving the team for personal reasons - andhis status for Friday's game is uncertain.


Sacramento, which has lost all six of its road games, also maybe without point guard Beno Udrih (knee), who was playing innplace of Mike Bibby (thumb).


Francisco Garcia filled in for Udrih - who sat out Wednesdayagainst the Suns - and netted a career-high 31 points for theKings.


But it should be easier for Garcia and the Kings againstBlazers, who have lost five straight since a surprisingfour-game winning streak. They suffered a 106-101 setbackagainst the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday.


Portland, which is 4-1 at home this campaign, aims to avoiddropping six in a row for the first time since closing out the2005-06 season with eight straight setbacks.

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">SACRAMENTO VS PORTLAND - INACTIVES

SACRAMENTO PORTLAND

PLAYER NAME REASON PLAYER NAME REASON
S ABDUR-RAHIM COACH'S DECISION D MILES RIGHT KNEE INJURY
M BIBBY THUMB INJURY J JONES LEFT KNEE INJURY
G ODEN RIGHT KNEE SURGERY</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">SACRAMENTO AT PORTLAND - PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS


SACRAMENTO PORTLAND

F Mikki Moore F Lamarcus Aldridge
F John Salmons F Martell Webster
C Brad Miller C Channing Frye
G Kevin Martin G Steve Blake
G Francisco Garcia G Brandon Roy

OFFICIALS: Ken Mauer
Michael Smith
Zach Zarba</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">SACRAMENTO AT PORTLAND - PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

REVISED LINEUPS

SACRAMENTO PORTLAND

F Mikki Moore F Lamarcus Aldridge
F Ron Artest F Martell Webster
C Brad Miller C Channing Frye
G Kevin Martin G Steve Blake
G Beno Udrih G Brandon Roy

OFFICIALS: Ken Mauer
Michael Smith
Zach Zarba</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 11
PORTLAND 3 8:44 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 18
PORTLAND 11 5:08 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 20
PORTLAND 18 2:44 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 25
PORTLAND 24 END, 1ST QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA END 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
SACRAMENTO 25 25
PORTLAND 24 24 END 1ST QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 1ST QUARTER

SAC - KEVIN MARTIN 11, MIKKI MOORE 6, BENO
UDRIH 4
POR - LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE 13, BRANDON ROY 5,
JARRETT JACK 2</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 32
PORTLAND 28 8:59 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 36
PORTLAND 33 5:56 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 38
PORTLAND 38 2:45 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 43
PORTLAND 42 HALFTIME</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
SACRAMENTO 25 18 43
PORTLAND 24 18 42 HALFTIME

HIGH SCORERS AT HALFTIME

SAC - KEVIN MARTIN 11, FRANCISCO GARCIA 10,
MIKKI MOORE 8
POR - LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE 17, BRANDON ROY 7,
TRAVIS OUTLAW 4</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 48
PORTLAND 48 8:49 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 52
PORTLAND 57 5:41 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 58
PORTLAND 59 2:50 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 65
PORTLAND 62 END, 3RD QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA END 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
SACRAMENTO 25 18 22 65
PORTLAND 24 18 20 62 END 3RD QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 3RD QUARTER

SAC - FRANCISCO GARCIA 16, KEVIN MARTIN 14,
RON ARTEST 13
POR - LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE 25, BRANDON ROY 9,
STEVE BLAKE 7</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 71
PORTLAND 68 8:20 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 74
PORTLAND 71 5:47 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 76
PORTLAND 81 2:42 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 84
PORTLAND 83 0:45 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA SACRAMENTO 84
PORTLAND 87 FINAL</div>

 

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NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
SACRAMENTO 25 18 22 19 84
PORTLAND 24 18 20 25 87 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: SAC - KEVIN MARTIN 21, RON ARTEST 17,
FRANCISCO GARCIA 17
POR - LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE 28, STEVE BLAKE 13,
BRANDON ROY 13</div>

 

[SportsTicker]

NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">SACRAMENTO (84) AT PORTLAND (87)

SACRAMENTO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B UDRIH G 34:27 5-13 0-0 0 4 4 6 1 0 4 11
K MARTIN G 37:47 7-14 4-5 0 7 7 2 5 1 4 21
M MOORE F 22:53 3-7 2-2 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 8
R ARTEST F 37:21 6-13 3-5 1 10 11 5 3 2 1 17
B MILLER C 41:17 3-8 0-0 2 3 5 3 4 1 4 6
F GARCIA 21:38 6-11 4-6 1 1 2 0 4 1 2 17
S HAWES 2:56 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
J SALMONS 20:34 1-3 0-0 0 4 4 1 1 0 1 2
K THOMAS 15:36 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 0 2 2
Q DOUBY 5:31 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
D WATKINS DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J WILLIAMS DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 32-72 13-18 4 32 36 18 25 6 18 84
(.444) (.722) TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 18 (23 PTS)

PORTLAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

M WEBSTER F 34:03 2-9 3-5 1 8 9 1 2 0 2 8
L ALDRIDGE F 42:52 12-15 4-8 4 8 12 0 4 0 2 28
C FRYE C 15:18 2-4 0-1 0 2 2 1 1 0 2 4
B ROY G 35:41 6-15 0-2 1 3 4 8 2 3 0 13
S BLAKE G 26:12 5-9 0-0 0 0 0 4 2 1 1 13
J JACK 28:41 1-5 5-6 0 0 0 5 2 1 1 7
J PRZYBILLA 13:01 1-3 2-2 3 2 5 1 5 0 4 4
S RODRIGUEZ 16:41 2-7 0-1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 4
T OUTLAW 27:31 2-6 2-2 1 4 5 0 1 1 1 6
R LAFRENTZ DNP - COACH'S DECISION
T GREEN DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J MCROBERTS DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 33-73 16-27 10 28 38 21 20 7 15 87
(.452) (.593) TEAM REBS: 11 TOTAL TO: 17 (13 PTS)

SACRAMENTO 25 18 22 19 - 84
PORTLAND 24 18 20 25 - 87

BLOCKED SHOTS: SACRAMENTO - B MILLER, K THOMAS, J SALMONS. PORTLAND -
T OUTLAW 3, L ALDRIDGE 3, J PRZYBILLA 2.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: SACRAMENTO 7-19 (.368), B UDRIH 1-5, K MARTIN 3-
5, R ARTEST 2-4, B MILLER 0-2, F GARCIA 1-3. PORTLAND 5-20 (.250),
M WEBSTER 1-4, B ROY 1-4, S BLAKE 3-7, J JACK 0-2, S RODRIGUEZ 0-
3.
TECHNICAL FOULS: SACRAMENTO - DEFENSIVE THREE. PORTLAND - DEFENSIVE
THREE.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: KEN MAUER, MICHAEL SMITH, ZACH ZARBA.
A - 19,980. T - 2:23.</div>

 

[SportsTicker]

NBA: SACRAMENTO at PORTLAND

<div class="pre">SACRAMENTO (84)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Udrih 34:27 5-13 0-0 0-4 6 1 11
K Martin 37:47 7-14 4-5 0-7 2 5 21
M Moore 22:53 3-7 2-2 0-0 0 4 8
R Artest 37:21 6-13 3-5 1-11 5 3 17
B Miller 41:17 3-8 0-0 2-5 3 4 6
F Garcia 21:38 6-11 4-6 1-2 0 4 17
S Hawes 2:56 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
J Salmons 20:34 1-3 0-0 0-4 1 1 2
K Thomas 15:36 1-2 0-0 0-2 1 1 2
Q Douby 5:31 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
D Watkins DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J Williams DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 32-72 13-18 4-36 18 25 84
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.444, FT-.722. 3-Point Goals:
7-19, .368 (B Udrih 1-5, K Martin 3-5, R
Artest 2-4, B Miller 0-2, F Garcia 1-3). Team
Rebounds: 11. Blocked Shots:3 (B Miller, K
Thomas, J Salmons). Turnovers:18 (B Miller 4,
K Martin 4, B Udrih 4, K Thomas 2, F Garcia
2, R Artest, J Salmons). Steals: 6 (R Artest
2, B Miller, M Moore, K Martin, F Garcia).


PORTLAND (87)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
M Webster 34:03 2-9 3-5 1-9 1 2 8
L Aldridge 42:52 12-15 4-8 4-12 0 4 28
C Frye 15:18 2-4 0-1 0-2 1 1 4
B Roy 35:41 6-15 0-2 1-4 8 2 13
S Blake 26:12 5-9 0-0 0-0 4 2 13
J Jack 28:41 1-5 5-6 0-0 5 2 7
J Przybilla 13:01 1-3 2-2 3-5 1 5 4
S Rodriguez 16:41 2-7 0-1 0-1 1 1 4
T Outlaw 27:31 2-6 2-2 1-5 0 1 6
R LaFrentz DNP - COACH'S DECISION
T Green DNP - COACH'S DECISION
J McRoberts DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 33-73 16-27 10-38 21 20 87
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.452, FT-.593. 3-Point Goals:
5-20, .250 (M Webster 1-4, B Roy 1-4, S Blake
3-7, J Jack 0-2, S Rodriguez 0-3). Team
Rebounds: 11. Blocked Shots:8 (T Outlaw 3, L
Aldridge 3, J Przybilla 2). Turnovers:15 (J
Przybilla 4, C Frye 2, M Webster 2, L
Aldridge 2, S Rodriguez 2, S Blake, J Jack, T
Outlaw). Steals: 7 (B Roy 3, S Blake, J Jack,
T Outlaw, S Rodriguez).

-------------------------------------------
SACRAMENTO 25 18 22 19 - 84
PORTLAND 24 18 20 25 - 87
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: Sacramento - 1 (Defensive
Three, 6:38 2nd). Portland - 1 (Defensive
Three, 6:14 3rd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 19,980. T: 2:23.
Officials: Ken Mauer, Michael Smith, Zach
Zarba.</div>

 

[SportsTicker]

By Kasey Postlewaite
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Just under 48 minutes after theopening tip-off, a second jump ball sealed the fate of theSacramento Kings.


LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds andTravis Outlaw came up with a key steal to lead the PortlandTrail Blazers to an 87-84 victory over the Kings on Friday.

Brandon Roy scored just 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting for theBlazers, but he made a layup with 19 seconds remaining to givehis team an 85-84 lead and drew an offensive foul onSacramento's final possession to clinch the victory.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Blazers andextends the Kings' road losing streak to seven games to startthe season.


With Portland clinging to the one-point edge with six secondsleft, point guard Jarrett Jack tied up Kings center Brad Milleron an inbounds pass at mid-court to force a jump ball.

Miller won the tap, but Outlaw ripped the ball out of FranciscoGarcia's hands with just over one second remaining. Outlaw thenconverted two free throws to provide the winning margin.

After Jack converted a pair of free throws to give Portland an83-77 edge with 2:30 left in the game, the Kings responded witha 7-0 run - capped by Kevin Marin's 3-pointer with 1:15 to play- to pull ahead.


But Roy, who had been hounded by Sacramento's best defender -Ron Artest - all night, came through in the end.


Trailing, 74-70, Portland used back-to-back 3-pointers by SteveBlake in a 11-0 run to claim a 81-74 lead with 3:41 to play.

Sacramento jumped out to a 13-3 lead by making six of its firsteight shots, while Portland committed three turnovers -resulting in two breakaway dunks - and started 1-of-5 in thatspan.


But the Blazers fought back behind Aldridge's 13 first-quarterpoints, trailing only 25-24 after one.


Channing Frye's jumper with 10 seconds left in the secondquarter gave Portland its only lead of the opening half, 42-41.Garcia responded by converting a layup with two secondsremaining to give Sacramento a 43-42 lead at intermission.

Portland scrapped their way to a 59-54 third-quarter lead beforeSacramento closed the frame on an 11-3 run, claiming a 65-62lead going into the decisive fourth quarter.


Martin finished with 21 points and Garcia and Artest each added17 for the Kings.

 

[SportsTicker]

By Kasey Postlewaite
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Just under 48 minutes after theopening tip-off, a second jump ball sealed the fate of theSacramento Kings.


LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds andTravis Outlaw came up with a key steal to lead the PortlandTrail Blazers to an 87-84 victory over the Kings on Friday.

Brandon Roy scored just 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting for theBlazers, but he made a layup with 19 seconds remaining to givehis team an 85-84 lead and drew an offensive foul onSacramento's final possession to clinch the victory.

"Coming out of the timeout, we knew they were gonna try and getthe ball to (Ron) Artest," Roy said of the charge. "But Garciagrabbed the ball and I knew we was going to try and attack thebasket. I told myself if I just stand there, maybe he will runme over.


"The thing I was worried about was if we were going to get thewhistle. I think it was big for our team because we have beentrying to win games offensively but tonight we did it with ourdefense. It was risky, but I didn't think about it at thetime."


The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Blazers andextends the Kings' road losing streak to seven games to startthe season.


"The time before I had it and I had Brad Miller on me, and Iknew I should have taken it to the hole then, so when (Portlandcoach Nate) McMillan called the same play, I told myself that Ieither need to draw a foul or get a layup," Roy said about thelayup. "Miller came out and I just tried to attack his hip, andI was able to get to the rim. I'm glad because it was a bigshot for us."


With Portland clinging to the one-point edge with six secondsleft, point guard Jarrett Jack tied up Kings center Brad Milleron an inbounds pass at mid-court to force a jump ball.

"I'm not sure what happened to us at the end," Miller said. "Iguess our spacing wasn't good enough there at the end, and weare going to have to work on that, I guess."


Miller won the tap, but Outlaw ripped the ball out of FranciscoGarcia's hands with just over one second remaining. Outlaw thenconverted two free throws to provide the winning margin.

"We had our chance there at the end and we have no one butourselves to blame," Sacramento coach Reggie Theus said. "Wehad the ball taken from us down the stretch. We needed onedefensive stop and we couldn't get it. That's the ballgame."

After Jack converted a pair of free throws to give Portland an83-77 edge with 2:30 left in the game, the Kings responded witha 7-0 run - capped by Kevin Marin's 3-pointer with 1:15 to play- to pull ahead.


But Roy, who had been hounded by Sacramento's best defender -Artest - all night, came through in the end.


"I love playing against these great players," Roy said about thematchup with Artest. "Especially in only my second year. It'sgood for me and my confidence because I feel like he was playingme like I am one of the better players.


"He's tough and strong as an ox, and we were battling a littlebit. But we got away with a win, so I don't think he locked meup too much."


Trailing, 74-70, Portland used back-to-back 3-pointers by SteveBlake in a 11-0 run to claim a 81-74 lead with 3:41 to play.

"It felt good hitting those threes," Blake said. "You can'tdescribe (it). You are just happy that you are doing somethingto help contribute for your team to get a win."


Sacramento jumped out to a 13-3 lead by making six of its firsteight shots, while Portland committed three turnovers -resulting in two breakaway dunks - and started 1-of-5 in thatspan.


But the Blazers fought back behind Aldridge's 13 first-quarterpoints, trailing only 25-24 after one.


Channing Frye's jumper with 10 seconds left in the secondquarter gave Portland its only lead of the opening half, 42-41.Garcia responded by converting a layup with two secondsremaining to give Sacramento a 43-42 lead at intermission.

Portland scrapped their way to a 59-54 third-quarter lead beforeSacramento closed the frame on an 11-3 run, claiming a 65-62lead going into the decisive fourth quarter.


Martin finished with 21 points and Garcia and Artest each added17 for the Kings.


"You know this is a long season and you're gonna have yourtroubles on the road," Theus said. "We just gotta get thatfirst one, so we can go from there."