Blazers Lose 5th Straight to Kings, 105-94

It was the Artest show in the 4th quarter as he scored half of his points there and shut down Brandon Roy. Shelden Williams had an impressive debut in limited minutes, Garcia scored 23 points off of a back injury, it was all good for the Kings. It was a physical game with a dash of technicals and boos to Artest, again. The Blazers surged to stay in the game, thanks to the bench from Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster who chipped in a combined 41 points. It was close game throughout, and each team went on runs to put on the pressure. In the end, in the words of coach Nate McMillan, "We just couldn't handle Artest."

1ST HALF

In the beginning, Channing Frye and Joel Przybilla went off of the Kings, dunking on them wide open in the lane. Portland was going crazy like the dunk contest spilled over into the Rose Garden. After the 1st quarter dunk fest, things started to heat up. It started to get competitive, with Francisco Garcia and Travis Outlaw in a shootout. Garcia finished with 12 points in the half while Outlaw had 10 points. Shelden Williams came on his Kings debut strong with solid defensive play in the las minute of the game which could give him more playing time. the score tied at 51 at the half.

Kevin Martin only had 2 points. Looks like he's due for another horrible night. Maybe not.

Brandon Roy had 9 points. He should finish around his average of 19.5 PPG. Maybe not.

2ND HALF

The Kings let their guard down for the first part of the 3rd quarter, allowing the Blazers to make the first 3 shots. The Kings answered back with a 13-4 run, helping them to a 70-65 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Let's look at the odds of the Kings winning. Since the Sacramento era of the Kings began in 1985, the Kings have a record of 15-70 at the Rose Garden. That's a 17.6% winning average at Portland. The odds aren't that good for them winning. But add Artest to the equation, and it changes.

Outlaw and Webtser exploded in the 4th quarter getting 23 points and 18 points respectively. But on the defensive end, nothing could go Portland's way as the Kings were getting almost every foul call they could. The Kings getting to the line ended in the Kings going 11/14. Martin exploded in the 2nd half to finish with 21 points, while Garcia continued his shootout to finish with 23 points. In the end, most of the credit goes to Artest for shutting down Roy in the 2nd half. Not only that, but he also got 12 of his 24 points in the 4th quarter as well. Portland self-destructed at the end when Webster fouled Martin and got a technical for exploding at the ref. No question he was fouled though. Thanks to a big 4th quarter, the Kings pulled out win #16 since 1985, and sent the Blazers to a 5th straight loss.

Highlights

Kings
Artest: 24 pts, 5 rbs, 5 ast, 3 stl (held Roy scoreless in 4th quarter)
Garcia: 23 pts (5/7 3pt), 6 reb (bench)
Martin: 21 pts (19 pts in 2nd half), 6 reb, 3 ast, stl
Brad Miller: 15 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, stl, blk
Williams: 3 pts, 3 reb (2 off.), blk in 5 minutes (bench)

Blazers
Outlaw: 23 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl (bench)
Webster: 18 pts, 3 reb, stl, blk (bench)
Roy: 11 pts (2 pts 2nd half), 8 reb, 6 ast
Jarret Jack: 9 pts, 11 ast
LaMarcus Aldridge: 12 pts, 5 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, ast
Przybilla: 6 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk

The Kings are keeping their hopes up to go on a run like they did 2 years ago, when they had the 4th best record in the NBA after the All-Star Break. Artest, even though he's on the verge of being traded, backs it up by saying "We just don't want to be a rollover type of team, so we're making a push. We're not out until they say we're out.''

The Blazers, on the other hand, sound like their starting to get worried when Przybilla said, "We've got less than 30 games to go and we've got to get back on one of those streaks and get our confidence back.'' It was Portland's worst home loss of the season.

As the Blazers get reday to take on the Sonics after a day of rest, the Kings head back home to face former teammate Mike Bibby and the Atlanta Hawks tonight in an ironic, yet emotional homecoming. Bibby, however, was injured playing the Lakers last night, but he might play. If it's long term, it will hurt the Hawks' playoff run.