Nov 2, 2009 10:44 pm US/Pacific
K-Mart Lifts Kings To Victory In Home Opener
SACRAMENTO (AP) ―
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Kevin Martin #23 of the Sacramento Kings celebrates after scoring a basket against the Memphis Grizzlies during the game on November 2, 2009 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
Kevin Martin scored 48 points and Beno Udrih hit a game-tying layup in the closing seconds of regulation to give the Sacramento Kings a 127-116 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in their home opener Monday night.
After starting the season with three straight losses on the road, the Kings came through late to delight a rare sellout crowd in Sacramento. It was a back-and-forth game down the stretch with both teams delivering big shots on a night little defense was played.
The two biggest for the Kings were Udrih's driving layup with 1.6 seconds left in regulation and Martin's career-high tying seventh 3-pointer, that gave Sacramento a 116-112 lead with 1:45 remaining in overtime.
After Rudy Gay missed two free throws and Andres Nocioni blocked a driving attempt from Mike Conley, Omri Casspi dunked in transition to put the Kings up six. Nocioni's 3-pointer with 48 seconds left gave Sacramento a 121-112 lead, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Spencer Hawes added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Udrih scored 16 for the Kings, who gave new coach Paul Westphal his first win with the team.
Zach Randolph had 30 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Gay added 21 points and 12 rebounds and O.J. Mayo scored 22 for the Grizzlies, who fell to 2-26 all-time in Sacramento.
Randolph had given Memphis the lead with a fallaway jumper over Kenny Thomas with 6.1 seconds left for the ninth lead change in the final 4 minutes of regulation. But Udrih answered for the Kings, Udrih did not play at all in the season opener but got the key minutes in this game ahead of rookie Tyreke Evans.
Udrih scored nine points in the fourth quarter, delivering key passes and running the offense efficiently. Evans had three points, missing all four shots from the field.
Allen Iverson, the Grizzlies' highly publicized free-agent signing, made his Memphis debut after missing the first three games while recovering from a partial right hamstring tear. Iverson was booed when he entered the game with 4:39 left in the first quarter. He started slowly before hitting a pair of jumpers late in the third quarter. Iverson finished with 11 points.
Casspi quickly won over his new fans by hitting his first three shots, leading a few fans to wave Israeli flags in honor of that country's first NBA player. Casspi finished with 15 points.
The Kings gave the fans little to cheer about early, falling behind 17-4 on a dunk by Gay midway through the first quarter as they were outhustled for rebounds and loose balls.
Martin quickly got the Kings back into the game, hitting a 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer that was part of a 17-2 run that gave Sacramento a one-point lead early in the second. The game stayed close from there until
NOTES: Memphis was not called for its first foul until 1:31 remained in the opening quarter, prompting Westphal to exclaim, "Finally!". ... One of the loudest ovations was for recently retired G Bobby Jackson, who is now an "ambassador" for the team.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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