Big win, bigger loss for Kings

It was a one-quarter practice run, if you will, an involuntary experiment of sorts to see if the Kings could continue playing well without Kevin Martin.

And for a night, the reality of being without their leading scorer wasn't so bad. The Martin-less Kings hit 11 of 14 fourth-quarter shots and seized yet another win over an upper-echelon team at home in downing Utah 117-107 Tuesday at Arco Arena with an announced 12,688 on hand.

They entered attack mode in the final period, just after Martin left with a groin injury, with John Salmons taking over by scoring 13 consecutive Kings points. A 19-of-22 effort from the free-throw line in the quarter helped them improve to 7-3 at home.

But not until long after the Kings' locker room was empty did the air in the room officially seep out: Martin's strained right groin will keep him out four to six weeks.

"Without Kevin, we definitely won't be as good," Kings small forward Ron Artest said. "But we've got to hang in there. We've got to play every possession like it's our last. We've been giving ourselves a chance to win, and we have to give ourselves a chance to see how far we can take this thing."

The thing, of course, being the surging of an expectation-less team.

The last time these teams met, the Kings were without Mike Bibby, Brad Miller, and Artest on Nov. 12 in Utah and most certainly without much hope. They were not only losing almost every time out but losing in the sort of way that challenged each player's pride, all the while presenting quite a challenge of cohesion for first-year coach Reggie Theus. The 24-point loss to the Jazz was long forgotten by the time Francisco García hit his three-pointer from the right corner.

The third-year swingman will surely receive more floor time in light of Martin's injury, and he made the most of his 10 minutes when the ball finally stopped in his hands after three-head turning passes on the possession. García had given it up once, but not again, and he squared his shoulders for the three from the right wing that put the Kings up 107-101 with 1:49 left. He did it again with 19 seconds left, receiving a pass in the right corner after Beno Udrih penetrated the lane and putting the Kings up 113-105.

They were rare fourth-quarter jump shots for the team that clearly learned its lesson after its jump-shooting ways late against Golden State two games before led to a loss.

"'Cisco has been hitting those shots, so I told him to stay with it and it'll come back to you," Mikki Moore said. "Ron was penetrating to the basket and it made (the Jazz) shrink in and the kickout was there."

Artest continued to showcase an all-around game even beyond his norm. He had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in all, continuing to play despite the troubling situation with his 4-year-old daughter in Indiana who has cancer on her kidney.

Artest – who had sympathy cards spread out in his locker – said he continues to research medical facilities in this area with the hopes his daughter, Diamond, can receive treatment closer to Sacramento.

"I'm out here on a string right now," he said.

Kings center Brad Miller had 13 points and 11 rebounds, continuing to improve.

"He had a bad year last year; the whole squad had a bad year last year," Moore said. "But they're not thinking about that. We're thinking about the future. A lot of people are still writing us off, but watch for us. We're not going anywhere."

Martin, who had 25 points, appeared to strain the groin on the final play of the third quarter, when Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer crossed him up before rising for a jumper at the buzzer to put Utah up 77-74.

With yet another obstacle added to their short season, the Kings hope they can rise up without Martin.

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• Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582. Read his blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.