OKLAHOMA CITY – Spencer Hawes isn't one for innuendo. He's more the billboard type.
As the Kings' second-year center strolled through Ford Center on Sunday, his message was clear from the yellow suit and green dress shirt to the Space Needle tie.
"I was a big Sonics fan growing up, born and raised in Seattle," Hawes said. "I think it's a travesty that they were taken away after 40 years, and this is my way of showing it."
And his public display of his disdain for the franchise's relocation to Oklahoma City didn't begin when he walked into Ford Center. Hawes wore a SuperSonics jersey on the team flight.
"I left my (Gary) Payton (jersey) back at home," said Hawes, who had 15 points and six rebounds against the Thunder. "That one is a little too tight. If I had the old Payton in the size I wear now, I'd be in business. It looked more like a wife beater."
So, that left him with Nick Collison's former colors.
"The only one I had was Collison, so I had to wear that," Hawes said in the visitors' locker room as his spirited suit hung inside his cubby.
"Horrid, absolutely horrid," Kevin Martin chimed in from a few feet away. "I'm not mad at you for wearing it. I'm mad at the people who made it."
Hawes quickly responded in defense of the suit manufacturer: "They're heroes."
Hawes admitted Ford Center was an impressive facility and he had heard good things entering Sunday's game about the Oklahoma City fans.
Asked about the level of excitement from the announced crowd of 18,271 after the Kings' 116-113 loss, Hawes wasn't ready to dole out compliments.
"It was cool," he said. "It was no KeyArena in '96, though."
Hawes has started the last four games while center Brad Miller recovers from a left hip flexor strain. He said he's beginning to feel more comfortable on the floor, despite ongoing flareups from an abdominal strain.
Jackson adds to family – Kings guard Bobby Jackson did not make the trip to Oklahoma City, staying in Sacramento to be with his wife, Dona, who gave birth to the couple's fifth child Saturday.
Jackson's new arrival was also good news for the Thunder. He was pivotal in the Kings' 122-118 overtime win over Oklahoma City on Feb. 1, playing the entire overtime and scoring six points.
Jackson is expected to rejoin the Kings today as they prepare to visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Timeout blunder – Martin shook his head after calling a timeout while trying to inbound with 0.3 seconds remaining and the Kings down 116-113. With no timeouts left, the Kings earned a technical foul.
"We were stuck in that situation, down three with 0.3 left," Martin said. "You know the game is over. Everyone was covered, and I just called it."
Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521. To have alerts and game scores sent to your phone, text KINGS to 72737.
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