NEW YORK – While Bobby Jackson was scheduled to have surgery on his broken cheekbone Friday at UC Davis Medical Center, the Kings guard instead will return to action as soon as Sunday in a home game against Philadelphia.
According to Kings interim coach Kenny Natt, Jackson decided to change the course of action and attempt to finish what could be his final season with the Kings.
"I'm not surprised," Natt said. "I'm only surprised that the doctors didn't talk him out of it. I guess Bobby wants to play the rest of the season."
Jackson, a 12-year veteran who will be a free agent this summer, suffered the injury against Cleveland on March 13.
Martin reaches milestone – In the Kings' 121-94 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Friday, it was more about the history avoided.
The Kings won for the first time against the Eastern Conference and thus won't be known as the only team in NBA history to go winless against the opposite conference.
Nonetheless, Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin made a bit of positive history at the same time.
By hitting 11 free throws (on 12 attempts) in his 30-point outing, Martin became the fourth player in Kings history to have three or more seasons with 400-plus free throws.
Afterward, he was more concerned about the collective outlook on the win for his embattled team.
"We played together, and it was just fun seeing everybody play like that," Martin said. "(The Knicks) just had a bad night, and we took advantage of it. They're fighting for a playoff spot, so you would've thought they had more energy coming out."
Role reversal for Kings – It was like the subway running in the sunshine, or Times Square being underground.
Down was up, and up was down in the rare Kings win.
The team that entered with a league-worst rebounding differential of minus 5.42 outrebounded the Knicks 52 to 36, with big men Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes combining for 25. Even Kings point guard Beno Udrih had seven.
After a season in which Udrih's subpar assist-to-turnover ratio has been among his many glaring faults, he had seven assists and two turnovers while adding 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
McCants, Nocioni sit – Kings shooting guard Rashad McCants (right ankle) and small forward Andres Nocioni (right quadriceps tendinitis) sat against the Knicks.
It was the second consecutive game missed by Nocioni. He remains day-to-day.
McCants, who turned his ankle late in the fourth quarter at Charlotte on Wednesday, said he expects to play Sunday.
Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.
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