The Kings are my favorite team!!

Celtic Fan · Dec 10, 2008

well, for today they are

Kings snap 8-game skid, stun Lakers 113-101
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Kobe, Lakers go cold as Kings snap eight-game skid
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The outlook was as grim as Gavin Maloof's outfit, an all-black getup that made for a fitting fashion statement in light of the recent circumstances.

This was the lowly Kings and their twisting-in-the-wind coach against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers and their traveling supporters, a seemingly perfect scene setter for Reggie Theus' projected demise.

And as the Kings co-owner watched his team jump out to an early lead Tuesday night at Arco Arena, he shook his head as he discussed the cumulative effect of so many recent failures.

Eleven losses in 12 games qualified as trying times for the family, even more so in light of a recent scare that caused concern of an even greater kind. Just last week, Gavin said, Joe Maloof had spent a day in a Las Vegas hospital after suffering what was initially thought to be a stroke. The cause remains a mystery and he has returned to full health, but the unending stresses of all types left the family badly in need of a reprieve.

"This team is going to kill us," Gavin said with a half-hearted laugh.

Yet by night's end, he and so many frustrated fans reveled in their team's shocking revival, a 113-101 win that stopped the Kings' eight-game losing streak, gave the Lakers only their third loss in 20 games and kept the Kings from breaking the franchise record with a ninth consecutive home loss.

Playing with an end-to-end effort that had become the exception more than the rule and feeding off a rare near-capacity crowd announced at 16,068, the Kings entertained and sustained at a level that left Maloof as the loudest cheerleader. He cheered early and often with his two-fingered whistle, clapped so hard he hurt his thumb at one point and raised his hands at the end in a moment that was a long time coming for all involved.

Nearly three weeks after the Kings' last win, there was reason to celebrate.

"It shows what I've been telling the guys, that you play hard no matter what the outcome is," Francisco Garc?*a said. "All you can do is go out and play hard every night."

With the Kings shooting 49.4 percent, Garc?*a and John Salmons had 21 points each, and Bobby Jackson tied his season high with 15 points. They shunned their most damaging personality traits, tying a season low with 10 turnovers and locking down defensively to hold the Lakers to 40.2 percent shooting. Kobe Bryant was an abysmal 9 of 25 from the field.

"All in all, with the look of the team, the way the team played, the level of concentration, the intensity, the focus, it makes you wonder," Theus said. "I know this is who we are."

Following a 33-point Denver drubbing in which the Kings trailed by 21 after the first quarter and the smallish crowd booed early and often, it seemed as if Theus' standing was best judged in 12-minute increments. Yet this first quarter was far different from the last, with Garc?*a hitting a jumper, three-pointer and layup, and Brad Miller converting a putback layup for an early 11-2 lead.

The Lakers made just 9 of 26 shots in the first quarter and allowed the Kings to hit 13 of 26. A 27-22 lead, in some ways, had the feel of a mini-success for the Kings considering their recent play.

The Kings survived a 10-0 Lakers run to start the second quarter en route to a 56-51 halftime lead after Bryant had shot just 2 of 9. A 15-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters pushed their lead to 15, and they coasted from there.

"Now we know what we can do against a great team," Jackson said. "They weren't 17-2 for nothing. And now they're 17-3."
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yup, Kings fan for the day

Celtic Fan · Dec 10, 2008

HEE-HEE-HEE!!

http://sportstwo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130927&page=4

JE · Dec 15, 2008

Their sorrow fuels me.

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The Kings are my favorite team!!

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The Kings are my favorite team!!

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