WASHINGTON – There was intent in Brad Miller's step.
The Kings center, who's not known for his penetration skills, peeked up at the rim from the perimeter late in the first quarter, drove around two Washington defenders and slammed a right-handed dunk. Kings coach Reggie Theus said it was certainly the first time since he took over that his center has slammed with so much strength.
So, Miller was asked, did you surprise yourself?
"Nah, I knew I had it in me at some point," he said while proudly rubbing his chin. "It just takes the right situations, and (you have to) make sure everybody gets out of the way first."
Theus couldn't conceal his surprise.
"How about that?" he said of the dunk. "It's been what, four or five months now and that's the first time I've seen him go after (a dunk) like that? I'm happy for him because he's looking (to attack) the basket, which means to me that he's in a good place mentally."
Miller, who had 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting, would have enjoyed it even more if his teammates had followed the trend.
But one night after finishing with 62 points in the paint against Philadelphia, the Kings had just 24 against the Wizards on Saturday night at the Wachovia Center. They relied mostly on outside looks in the second half of their 92-79 loss and went down in a barrage of jumpers.
The ever-persistent Miller continued his unofficial role of anti-jumpshot spokesman, though many of his baskets came from the perimeter as he was the lone King to find his touch from long range.
"Our main problem when we lose is just shooting too many jump shots," Miller said. "We've just got to get to the hole, get to the line. We fall in the rut. I don't know why we do it."
The Kings fell to 1-3 on the tail end of back-to-back games in what was also their third game in four nights on the road.
Dahntay's inferno – The Kings might have endured a cold shooting night, but new guard Dahntay Jones heated things up with a monstrous dunk in the second quarter.
Jones, who was signed Monday after spending four seasons with Memphis, took a pass from Beno Udrih on the break and launched from the left side. Jones went over Wizards forward Andray Blatche with a powerful right hand to cut the Wizards' lead to 37-29.
Kings small forward Ron Artest couldn't help but ask about the play.
"What's it like when you get up that high?" he asked Jones.
Call The Bee's Sam Amick at (916) 326-5582. Read his Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
