Kings throw in a clunker in L.A.

LOS ANGELES – Dr. Phil is busy these days with the Britney Spears fallout and all.

So when Clippers owner Donald Sterling and coach Mike Dunleavy started sniping at each other this week about who was to blame for their losing ways, the Kings entered town Wednesday with the unwelcome opportunity to provide a bit of much-needed therapy.

They did just that, forgoing a chance to maintain their team's own mental health and helping the Clippers' brass regain its sanity at least for a night in a 111-85 win at Staples Center.

Center Chris Kaman looked the part of Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor, the Hall of Fame big man and one of the team's few executives who was dragged into the public finger-pointing session. Kaman's 21 rebounds were more than the combined total of the four Kings starters not named Brad Miller (12 rebounds), as the Clippers won the boards battle 50-40.

Kaman provided 20 points, as well, yet another feat no King could manage. Sacramento shot just 41.9 percent from the floor as its first three-game winning streak of the season and the momentum of six wins in eight games ended. Mike Bibby led all Kings scorers with 16 points.

"That is the way we have to play," said Clippers forward Tim Thomas, who had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

"The times when we play that way, we can play with anybody. When we try to do it by ourselves, that is when we get in trouble."

The Kings can rest easy knowing they're not the only ones who struggle with that problem. As the halfway point of the season arrived, the unorthodox part for the Kings is how they remain in training-camp mode. Such is the struggle that comes with dealing with more injuries to starters than perhaps any team besides Miami.

The hot-shooting, ball-sharing, ball-control ways of the previous night's rout over New Jersey were nowhere to be found, as the Kings surrendered 22 turnovers and fell to 1-9 in games in which they commit more than 20. They allowed an opponents' season-high 33 points off the turnovers. They hit just 6 of 20 three-pointers after a 15-of-24 performance from beyond the arc against the Nets.

Swingman Francisco García joked about his own words after the Nets game, in which he shared a conversation on chemistry he and Ron Artest had when all was well.

"We didn't have that chemistry tonight, did we?" García said. "That's going to be the last time I talk to him in the shower.

"We didn't play good tonight, but you know what? We'll put this behind us. Every time we lose like this, we just have to come back and take care of business the next game."

Bibby handled matters on his own early, scoring nine points early as the Kings led 13-12 midway through the first quarter. But while they survived a lackluster first half trailing 50-49 largely because the Clippers were no more inspired, Los Angeles used an 11-4 run to open the second half to pull away. They led 76-64 entering the fourth quarter, with the situation only worsening for the Kings from there.

Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin had his worst game since his Jan. 12 return, hitting just 3 of 11 shots and sitting for the last eight minutes of the pivotal third quarter.

"When Kevin went out the game, they blew the game open," said Artest, who had eight points on 4-of-12 shooting. "We weren't getting buckets when he went out. We'll be all right. We'll get it back."

Perhaps in Utah on Friday, or the trip finale in Seattle on Sunday, the latest chances to push forward for a team that remains winless (0-9) against Western Conference teams on the road.

About the writer:

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