Golden State (1-3) at Sacramento (2-4)

Fog Currently: Sacramento, CA
Temp: 39° F
  • Game info: 9:00 pm EST Sun Nov 8, 2009
  • TV: NBATV, CSCA

By MATT BECKER, STATS Senior Writer Nov 8, 1:14 am EST

Preview | Box Score | Recap

With leading scorer Kevin Martin(notes) expected to miss at least six weeks with a wrist injury, the Sacramento Kings are in need of someone to step up and shoulder the offensive load.

Rookie Tyreke Evans(notes) appears to be up to that challenge.

Evans looks to build on the best game of his young career and help the Kings win their second consecutive game Sunday night when they host the Golden State Warriors.

Sacramento’s chances of staying competitive this season seemed to take a major hit Friday, when Martin decided to undergo surgery on his injured wrist. Martin had gotten off to a fast start, averaging a team-best 30.6 points, and was expected to be one of the floor leaders on a young Kings team, which was an NBA-worst 17-65 last season.

Evans’ performance in Saturday’s 104-99 victory at Utah, the team’s first game without Martin, gives Sacramento (2-4) reason to believe it can still find success without its star shooting guard.

Evans had career highs of 32 points and seven assists, showing he has the offensive firepower to step into Martin’s role.

“My confidence is up,” Evans said.

The fourth pick of the June draft was fearless, driving the lane and repeatedly drawing fouls on his way to the basket. Evans, who scored just three points in Monday’s 127-116 overtime victory over Memphis, made 16 of 19 free throws.

“I was pressing early in the season, but coach got me in the film room and we went over some things,” Evans said. “I saw ways I could get better and I felt ready to step up.”

Evans could have another strong offensive game against a Golden State team allowing an average of 113.5 points, second-worst in the NBA.

Just as the Kings are without their top player, the Warriors are also a little banged-up.

Golden State (1-3) opened this season with power forward Brandan Wright(notes) expected to miss at least four weeks with a left shoulder injury

Forward Ronny Turiaf(notes) has missed back-to-back games due to a left knee sprain and center Andris Biedrins(notes) sat out Friday’s 118-90 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with a sore back.

“Sometimes the effort is there but we’re four games into the season and we’ve got guys hurt already,” said Stephen Jackson(notes), who had 17 points Friday. “It’s a terrible start and that does nothing but get contagious. If you’re going to blame somebody, I’ll take the blame. I’ve been doing it since I got here.”

With the frontcourt plagued by injuries, the Warriors may need second-year forward Anthony Randolph(notes) to build on his best performance of the season. The 6-foot-10 power forward had season highs of 13 points and 14 rebounds against the Clippers for his first double-double.

Monta Ellis(notes) is also playing well, averaging a team-high 20.8 points, after missing 57 games last season because of injuries to his left ankle.

In the only game he played against Sacramento last season, Ellis scored a career-high 42 points in a 143-141 overtime victory April 1.

Martin scored a career-best 50 for the Kings in that game.

Updated Nov 8, 1:14 am EST
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Team Comparison

Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Golden State 5-8 5th Pacific / 13th West 109.7 111.0 Road 2-6 Won 2 4-6
Sacramento 5-8 4th Pacific / 12th West 103.2 106.1 Home 4-2 Lost 4 5-5

Notes

Golden State players missed a combined 234 games with injuries. ... The Warriors had eight players in uniform and used only seven. ... C Andris Biedrins (nine points) and F-C Ronny Turiaf (eight) were the only players not to score in double figures for Golden State.

Apr 16, 1:58 am EDT

With Wednesday's victory, the Kings snapped a nine-game losing streak. ... G Rashad McCants played his first game at Target Center in a visiting uniform. He spent his first three seasons with Minnesota before being traded to Sacramento in February. He was booed when he entered the game in the first quarter and jeered when he shot an airball in the third.

Apr 15, 11:58 pm EDT
NBA

34 Comments

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  1. raiders1
    34. Posted by raiders1 Wed Nov 11 11:27am EST

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    Baron Davis was the Issue that why J rich left the team Mr. ball hog Davis wants the Ball all the time so that why J rich Left I don't Blame him I Blame the GM for not sticking up for J rich! Davis was not the Best PG that was Billups if I was the Warriors I would Trade Davis to detroit for Billups and Keep J Rich. that starting Five would been the best Billups,J Rich,Eills,Richard Hendix,Andis B, Run n Gun for sure!
  2. <i>miniminimynimow</i>
    33. Posted by miniminimynimow Mon Nov 9 10:08pm EST

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    don't let martin play again.. he sucks.. i hate his game so much..
  3. RICHIE
    32. Posted by RICHIE Mon Nov 9 5:00pm EST

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    The Kings are still a few years away for being a contender....the good news is the team is very younger and do have a very good coach. Westphal and his staff is great for this young players....Hopefully they learn from him. Finally a real coach compare to the couple years of screw up on the Maloof and Petrie.
  4. bob c
    31. Posted by bob c Mon Nov 9 3:42pm EST

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    Both Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson miss way too many layups and dunk opportunities. Hawes makes more than JT does though.

    I'm pretty disappointed in JT's offensive production so far this year. He showed so much promise scoring in the paint last year, but his FG% is now down more than 6%. How can he miss so many wide open layups? I can't even remember the last time he made one.
  5. just me
    30. Posted by just me Mon Nov 9 2:56pm EST

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    To spencer hawes. dunk the friggin basketball. how many two foot shots are you going to miss down low. its embarassing. get physical and dunk it. it obvious you cannot make a two foot turn around hook shot. as big as you are you should not have to. dunk the ball. each game you have missed several shots down low. you are a center, if you cannot dunk the ball, have the coach keep you out and have jason rotate over. dante, jason, tyreke can dunk but you cant? pick it up if you do not want your minutes to go away. stop playing soft.
  6. Sports Fan
    29. Posted by Sports Fan Mon Nov 9 1:06pm EST

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    chillyfromphilly great comment. nice to see a real post. Tyreke is a monster. He makes the other players better and believe it or not he is our leader already!! The Kings really stole a draft pick with Tyreke. Griffin injured, Thabeet a bust, Harding not even close. One last thing Omri is not a rookie!! He is a pro basketball player.
  7. ME
    28. Posted by ME Mon Nov 9 12:50pm EST

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    Nellie didnt take the team to the playoffs Baron Davis and the Players did....Nelson was there for the ride....Then He had a part in Not re-signing Baron...Beleive that, he and Baron clashed the year after at the end....Mullin was doing all he could...then Baron is out and Mullin too...Whos the replacement? a Nelson Guy......Nelson didnt get us to the Playoffs... the players did...and as usual...its all about Nelson..thats why we arent in them now... No Warrior wants to win/or admit winning for this lame a$$ duck of a Coach with no plan other than wing it...
  8. ME
    27. Posted by ME Mon Nov 9 12:50pm EST

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    Nellie didnt take the team to the playoffs Baron Davis and the Players did....Nelson was there for the ride....Then He had a part in Not re-signing Baron...Beleive that, he and Baron clashed the year after at the end....Mullin was doing all he could...then Baron is out and Mullin too...Whos the replacement? a Nelson Guy......Nelson didnt get us to the Playoffs... the players did...and as usual...its all about Nelson..thats why we arent in them now... No Warrior wants to win/or admit winning for this lame a$$ duck of a Coach with no plan other than wing it...
  9. <i>fool4tech22</i>
    26. Posted by fool4tech22 Mon Nov 9 12:41pm EST

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    Everyone who is running down K-Mart apparently suffers from memory loss! In the previous two seasons, he scored 23-24 ppg on 15-16 FG attempts per game against defenses geared to stop him. That is hardly the performance of somebody who needs to shoot the ball often or is an ineffective scorer. I'm very high on Evans too, but let's see him succeed for more than 2 games in a row before we declare him the savior of the franchise. Also, if the Kings trade Kevin then defenses will key on Tyreke which will make his development much more difficult.
  10. <i>arc.tolentino</i>
    25. Posted by arc.tolentino Mon Nov 9 12:31pm EST

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    omri casspi is good. but was not mention above even if he gets a double double and 5 asts. he can really shoot threes but cant sink some freethrows. but he can improve. nice job for the kings. :)
  11. Steve-O
    24. Posted by Steve-O Mon Nov 9 12:17pm EST

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    everyone talking about beno bein good right now. just wait i give it maybe a month before he chokes again. hes not a good point he is however a good back up. hes only playing good right now so he can be starter again once he remains a starter he will start playing just like he did last season..... which was terrible
  12. J
    23. Posted by J Mon Nov 9 11:32am EST

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    Fire Don Nelson! Is anyone else concerned that this bozo will have the most victories of any coach in league history if he isn't stopped? This is a guy who will get a major accomplishment simply because he's been around a long time. What a travesty to the game...shame on Golden State.

    Nellie must go!!!
  13. chillyfromphilly
    22. Posted by chillyfromphilly Mon Nov 9 10:57am EST

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    coming from someone who've seen tyreke evans grow up, its not shocking at all.his family has been training him for most of his life just for now. he's always had an NBA style game.point guard, shooting guard, does it really matter? wasnt dwayne wade a point guard in college and played the point for a season or so when he first got into the league? people already talking about trading kevin martin. its way too soon for that. an evans/martin backcourt could be a monster if given time. back here in evans hometown, we knew he'd have no problem scoring in the NBA. but it might take a season or so for evans to shut people down on the defensive end.if evans stays healthy, i'd be shocked if evans doesnt win rookie of the year.
  14. Jeff E
    21. Posted by Jeff E Mon Nov 9 9:35am EST

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    Warriors were +10 when Acie was in there! he needs to play more!...he gets to teh basket and creates
  15. Joe B
    20. Posted by Joe B Mon Nov 9 5:30am EST

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    How about the fact that Omri Casspi had a double-double, as well as 5 assists?
  16. Phillip
    19. Posted by Phillip Mon Nov 9 3:32am EST

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    kings whipped a team they SHOULD whip. first step towards SAC being a good team is to beat teams that suck. A nice win, Kings are a more physical team now than i have seen before and I've been a fan of this team since the early 90s, being from norcal. lot of upside, i think they'll at least double their win total from last year. Evans is a beast, made curry look like a kid out there.
  17. John F
    18. Posted by John F Mon Nov 9 1:58am EST

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    Beno Udrih is the team's point guard, and Tyreke Evans is the team's scorer (more effective than Kevin Martin), these 2 make a solid back-court duo. To those who were putting Beno Udrih down, guess again, he is the team's cornerstone point guard, he will make Tyreke Evans look good, and vice versa.

    Way to go Beno Udrih!!!!!!
  18. Thomas B R
    17. Posted by Thomas B R Mon Nov 9 1:52am EST

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    The kings look better than they have the past 2 years. I will wait on trading Kmart until he and Garcia return. They are a much improved team this year and fun to watch. Evans is a future star. Lets see how they do on a long tough road trip against the better teams. At leat the coach is giving every one a chance to play and see how good they are.
  19. Six
    16. Posted by Six Mon Nov 9 1:46am EST

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    They can make Tyreke and KMart work. Those two alone are great scorers. Work on Spencer Hawes being a point-center (a la Vlade), with both Tyreke and Kmart slashing. The Kings could develop into a really deep team in the next few years. Now, if only we had a better coach....
  20. Mike M
    15. Posted by Mike M Mon Nov 9 1:20am EST

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    Wow, it's too soon to talk about trading K-mart... but so far, they do look way better without him. Plenty of offensive firepower, more toughness and size, and better team defense.. better overall chemistry on both ends of the floor.

    Sergio Rodriguez is not good... can't wait to see him and Kenny Thomas go.
  21. Hcn
    14. Posted by Hcn Mon Nov 9 12:51am EST

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    I love it when fans offer up the "fire Nellie" rant, especially since he's the only guy who has taken this team the playoffs in like 20 years. Plus no names are ever mentioned in regards to who should replace him (um, Phil Jackson is not available).
  22. swerve
    13. Posted by swerve Mon Nov 9 12:49am EST

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    cos k mart dont play any defense. thats why.
  23. <i>twinkle_starr76</i>
    12. Posted by twinkle_starr76 Mon Nov 9 12:45am EST

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    I agree with sally, the kings totally look better w/o kmart. but i'm not quite sure the kings should be so quick to trade him after 2 wins. everyone seriously needs to calm down! lol i know we're happy to FINALLY have a player with strength, talent, and swagger on the court (Tyreke), and to see cohesive play on the court (something we've lacked since the CWebb trade), but let's just take each win one win at a time. Trading kmart is such a ridiculous statement at this point in time.

    p.s. anyway, GO #13! I'm so excited about Ty! ROY!!!!! *fingers crossed* He reminds me of dwade but w/o an ego! ;)
  24. Louie
    11. Posted by Louie Mon Nov 9 12:43am EST

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    a lose to a team that is not better than your team means only one thing the coaching stinks, i do not know the logic of putting Anthony Randolph behind Mikki Moore lol and playing an injured Biedrins at that, Nellie really put upone of the worse rotations i have ever seen, i really do not see also the logic of playing a rookie along with ellis who are both small guards , i know he is the proponent of small ball but if he keeps this kind of rotation expect them to be on the lottery next year.
  25. <i>qooldude</i>
    10. Posted by qooldude Mon Nov 9 12:35am EST

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    Ball movement and low turnovers was key. Tyreke is effective at the #2 position while Beno can run the point. We'll see how they do against the better teams.
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