PORTLAND, Ore. – Ron Artest had every reason to be content.
The fourth quarter alone was enough. The small forward scored 12 of his 24 points in the final period as the Kings began their post-All-Star break and post-Mike Bibby chapter with a 105-94 victory over Portland at the Rose Garden on Tuesday night.
There was his rosy outlook on the endless trade rumors that surround him, too, the fact that the coast-to-coast chatter about where he'll end up is surely a reflection of his hoops reputation. But as Artest engaged in a lengthy postgame discussion in which he couldn't have been more at ease despite these allegedly tense times, he subtly revealed the true origin of his happiness. Leaning back in his locker and pulling out his iPhone, he displayed a picture of the Wilms' tumor recently removed from the kidney of his 4-year-old daughter, Diamond.
"She's doing great, doing great," Artest said with a huge smile. "She's walking. It's a thousand pounds, a million pounds off my shoulders. There ain't nothing to be upset about."
The surgery was performed by Dr. Andrew Davidoff of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 12, about the time the trade talks were reaching new highs and just in time to offer some hammer-over-the-head perspective.
She had surgery by day, and he played that night, contributing while distracted while the Kings fell to the Grizzlies in their next-to-last game before the break. The tumor, Artest said, had been shrunken from the size of a small football to the size of a softball through chemotherapy that began late last year.
Although Artest said doctors will continue to monitor her situation, this was success in every regard, especially considering the risk involved because Diamond was born with just one kidney. Diamond will be out of the hospital today and headed for Sacramento.
"Thank God," Artest said. "Thank God."
Against the Trail Blazers, Artest was the one being thanked. A trio of traveling Kings fans behind the team's bench couldn't get enough, pleading with him near the end to consider not opting out of his contract at season's end or perhaps sign a new deal with the Kings.
"Ron, re-sign," they yelled for the final few minutes.
His fourth quarter was yet another showcase of how influential he can be, as he not only led the way offensively in a 35-point Kings quarter but had two steals when it mattered most.
The Trail Blazers had no answer, with mismatches no matter who guarded him and the Kings rallying from an 81-79 deficit with 7:09 remaining when Artest teamed up with swingman Francisco García down the stretch. García hit three three-pointers in the fourth, scoring 11 of his 23 points.
The four new Kings acquired in Saturday's trade that sent Bibby to Atlanta played a relatively small part, with forward Shelden Williams contributing three points and three rebounds in five minutes and point guard Anthony Johnson doing little in nine minutes.
Afterward, the focus was on the former King, as the Bibby-led Hawks who will play at Arco Arena tonight struggled to a 122-93 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in his debut. Most of the Kings were fixed on the game as it played on the locker room television, new chapters beginning in more than one place and perhaps more to come.
"It's definitely a new chapter," said shooting guard Kevin Martin, who had 21 points. "It felt a little different out there, but we rallied around each other and just played as a team and played hard tonight for 48 minutes."
Call The Bee's Sam Amick, (916) 326-5582. Read his blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
