Jack
01-14-2006, 11:29 AM
Some dazzling 'D' earns Hornets a 'W'
By Darnell Mayberry
The Oklahoman
NORMAN - Much has changed since the Sacramento Kings last visited Oklahoma more than two months ago.
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifBox score
(http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=oklahoman&page=nba/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=6468)http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifNot even Hornets can fill Lloyd Noble (http://newsok.com/article/1733125/?template=sports/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifButler’s key 3-pointers add new element (http://newsok.com/article/1733127/?template=sports/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifNotes (http://newsok.com/article/1733126/?template=sports/main)
But nothing was unusual about their 90-76 drubbing at the hands of the Hornets on Friday night at OU’s Lloyd Noble Center.
David West led four Hornets in double-figure scoring with a game-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds and a career-high five steals. Rasual Butler scored 16 points off the bench with a career-high three blocks, Kirk Snyder added 13 and Desmond Mason chipped in 12.
The Hornets used the same tight-fisted defense that resulted in a 26-point win against the Kings in their season opener Nov. 1. They harassed the Kings into 20 turnovers, scoring 18 points off their carelessness and holding them to 36.4 percent shooting from the field.
Sacramento’s point total was its lowest since scoring just 67 back in that game.
On this visit, the Kings played without three of their usual starters in forwards Peja Stojakovic, Bonzi Wells and Shareef-Abdur Rahim.
“They have nothing to lose,” Hornets coach Byron Scott warned before the game. “That’s the one thing we have to guard against is going in looking at the guys they put on the floor instead of going out there and playing hard. They still got very capable players over there. So we just got to be ready to play them.”
The Hornets jumped on their injury-plagued roster early, leading by three points after one quarter and 15 at the half after outscoring the Kings 26-14 in the second quarter. The Hornets led by as many as 22 points, firmly snapping a two-game losing streak.
“Our main thing has to be coming out here and getting a win,” said forward PJ Brown before the game. “We want to break this two-game losing streak, and if we focus on that, we’ll be OK.”
The Hornets benefited from keeping a lid on Kings point guard Mike Bibby, who played a foul-plagued 27 minutes. Bibby entered the game with a 19.7-point scoring average but finished with just six points on 3-of-12 shooting. Kings center Brad Miller scored a team-high 18 points, Francisco Garcia scored 17 and Jason Hart added 12 off the bench.
The Hornets were playing in their third different home arena after Friday night’s game was moved from Baton Rouge, La., back to Oklahoma.
The Hornets wanted more of a home-court advantage than Louisiana State University’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center could provide with sparse fans.
The Hornets moved to 16-19 and avoided what Scott called a disappointing loss. “We expect to win at home,” Scott said. “That’s the bottom line. Just because it’s moved from Baton Rouge to here doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does give us a better chance of winning.”
By Darnell Mayberry
The Oklahoman
NORMAN - Much has changed since the Sacramento Kings last visited Oklahoma more than two months ago.
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifBox score
(http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=oklahoman&page=nba/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=6468)http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifNot even Hornets can fill Lloyd Noble (http://newsok.com/article/1733125/?template=sports/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifButler’s key 3-pointers add new element (http://newsok.com/article/1733127/?template=sports/main)
http://newsok.com/images/icon_smarrow_white.gifNotes (http://newsok.com/article/1733126/?template=sports/main)
But nothing was unusual about their 90-76 drubbing at the hands of the Hornets on Friday night at OU’s Lloyd Noble Center.
David West led four Hornets in double-figure scoring with a game-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds and a career-high five steals. Rasual Butler scored 16 points off the bench with a career-high three blocks, Kirk Snyder added 13 and Desmond Mason chipped in 12.
The Hornets used the same tight-fisted defense that resulted in a 26-point win against the Kings in their season opener Nov. 1. They harassed the Kings into 20 turnovers, scoring 18 points off their carelessness and holding them to 36.4 percent shooting from the field.
Sacramento’s point total was its lowest since scoring just 67 back in that game.
On this visit, the Kings played without three of their usual starters in forwards Peja Stojakovic, Bonzi Wells and Shareef-Abdur Rahim.
“They have nothing to lose,” Hornets coach Byron Scott warned before the game. “That’s the one thing we have to guard against is going in looking at the guys they put on the floor instead of going out there and playing hard. They still got very capable players over there. So we just got to be ready to play them.”
The Hornets jumped on their injury-plagued roster early, leading by three points after one quarter and 15 at the half after outscoring the Kings 26-14 in the second quarter. The Hornets led by as many as 22 points, firmly snapping a two-game losing streak.
“Our main thing has to be coming out here and getting a win,” said forward PJ Brown before the game. “We want to break this two-game losing streak, and if we focus on that, we’ll be OK.”
The Hornets benefited from keeping a lid on Kings point guard Mike Bibby, who played a foul-plagued 27 minutes. Bibby entered the game with a 19.7-point scoring average but finished with just six points on 3-of-12 shooting. Kings center Brad Miller scored a team-high 18 points, Francisco Garcia scored 17 and Jason Hart added 12 off the bench.
The Hornets were playing in their third different home arena after Friday night’s game was moved from Baton Rouge, La., back to Oklahoma.
The Hornets wanted more of a home-court advantage than Louisiana State University’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center could provide with sparse fans.
The Hornets moved to 16-19 and avoided what Scott called a disappointing loss. “We expect to win at home,” Scott said. “That’s the bottom line. Just because it’s moved from Baton Rouge to here doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does give us a better chance of winning.”