I was speaking with Mario Elie, who had been just hired as an assistant coach with the Kings.

Elie made his NBA career on defense and said with Greene's size (6-foot-10) and athleticism that Greene should be able to be a reliable defender every night, but he thought Greene was more concerned about scoring.

Center DeMarcus Cousins talks about the impact of the home crowd following the Kings' win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins said he refers to Marcus Thornton as "Mr. Big Shot."

Head coach Keith Smart has used no such moniker for the Kings guard. But he demonstrated his confidence in Thornton nonetheless in the Kings' 106-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

* The atmosphere at Power Balance Pavilion was more electric than it has been against any team not named the Lakers in the past, oh, six or seven years. The place was rocking, folks.

* Donte Greene played the most complete 16 minutes of his Kings career. The numbers don't tell the full story: 10 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and great defense in the closing minutes against the willowly Kevin Durant. Donte used his size and length to stay in front of Durant, and contest his long jumpers, which is all you can do.

* The Kings had an arena and Sacramento-era record 17 of their shots blocked, including nine in the third quarter - six of them by Serge Ibaka. They also shot only 40 percent to the Thunder's 48. But, the Kings controlled the boards (46-40), committed only 12 turnovers to 21 assists, and beat OKC at its own game: the Kings outscored the Thunder in fastbreak points (23-19) and cominated the paint (60 points to 34).

* Oops. TNT analysts Chris Webber and Reggie Miller completely botched their update about Sacramento's arena situation. Guess they gotta read The Bee. They had Sandy Sheedy's proposal regarding the parking bids as passing and requiring a public vote, which of course, is not what happened. Mayor Kevin Johnson, seated a few feet away from me, worked his cellphone furiously, scrambling to get the accurate information to the TNT crew.

* Rookies Jimmer Fredette and Isaiah Thomas again contributed off the bench. Fredette threw nice passes and converted a three in transition, while Thomas was Russell Westbrook's worst nightmare in the closing sequences. Thomas is smaller than his listed 5-foot-9, but he is also quick and much stronger than he looks.

* As soon as the game ended, an animated DeMarcus Cousins ran over to the TNT broadcast table and was seen shaking hands with Miller and chatting with Webber. When I asked what he said to Miller, he said, "Ah, it was nothing. I just asked him, 'how do you like me now?' He said a lot of stuff about me. But he just shook my hand and we were laughing."

* Tyreke Evans had two beautiful drives at the start of the fourth quarter. Imagine if the Kings had a consistent deep shooter to put out there with him? Fredette eventually may be that guy. Marcus Thornton hits big shots, and when he is of the mind, can be a pest defensively. He has extremely quick hands. But he is a streak shooter, and in light of Evans' struggles from the perimeter, I'm not convinced this is a starting backcourt. More consistent outside shooting would lead to better spacing and open the lane, especially for Tyreke.

Head coach Keith Smart talks about Marcus Thornton's late three-pointers, Donte Greene's contributions off the bench and other topics following Thursday night's game.

Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and made some key late free throws, Donte Greene led the Kings' bench players with 10 points and the Kings closed the game on a 19-6 run to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion, 106-101.

The Kings trailed 95-87 with just under six minutes remaining in the game. But they rallied to tie it at 97-97 on the second of back-to-back three-pointers by Marcus Thornton and made 9 of 12 free throws down the stretch to close out the win.

DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Jason Thompson added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who improved to 10-16.

Several times during the first half, Webber made comments about the council's vote on the arena failing. In the second half, Webber said he had talked to Johnson and again attempted to clarify but he never really explained the vote accurately and what it meant.

Yes, the vote failed - but it wasn't a vote on the arena, as Webber implied. The council rejected by a 5-4 vote a request by Sandy Sheedy to put the plan to lease the city's parking to help finance the arena up for a public vote.

Here's one of The Bee's Ryan Lillis' stories that best explains the vote and what it means.

Trailing by eight points midway through the fourth quarter, the Kings closed out the game with a 19-6 run to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at Power Balance Pavilion.

Tyreke Evans finished with a team-high 22 points for the Kings, who improved to 10-16. DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Jason Thompson had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder saw their Western Conference-best record drop to 20-6. Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 33 points and Kevin Durant had 27 points and 8 rebounds.

The Kings, who shot 40 percent from the floor, forced 23 turnovers and overcame a 48-percent shooting night and 17 blocked shots by the Thunder.

THIRD QUARTER
Thunder 78, Kings 76

Russell Westbrook scored 16 points in the third quarter as the Thunder took a two-point lead going into the fourth.

Westbrook leads all scorers with 27 points and has added 5 rebounds. Kevin Durant has 17 points for the Thunder.

Tyreke Evans has a team-high 16 points for the Kings, who have also received 14 points and 6 rebounds from DeMarcus Cousins, and 8 points and 9 rebounds from Jason Thompson.

Oklahoma City did an excellent job of challenging the Kings' shots after halftime. The Thunder has 14 blocks, including 9 by forward Serge Ibaka.

That has knocked down the Kings' shooting percentage, though they are still shooting above 40 percent from the floor.

Here are a few things to keep an eye on during the game:

1. The Kings' defense, playing better, will have its hands full. The Kings have been markedly improved on defense in their last six games, allowing an opponent to score 100 or more points just once, and that in an overtime win over the Golden State Warriors. The Thunder, one of the NBA's highest-scoring teams, will test them. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook make up one of the league's most formidable scoring duos, with sixth man James Harden averaging 16.8 points off the bench.

2. Durant likes playing in Sacramento. In five games played at Power Balance Pavilion (or then-Arco Arena) in the past three seasons, Durant has averaged 32.8 points per game. The NBA's leading scorer the past two seasons is coming off of back-to-back 33-point games, including the Thunder's shootout win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Durant hit the eventual game-winning jumper in that game with about 15 seconds left and then blocked a potential tying shot as time expired.

"It's going to be a fun event, there's going to be a lot of people there," Cousins said. "Playing with the other 'Rising Stars,' it'll be a lot of fun."

Cousins, who is averaging 15.3 points and 11.5 rebounds this season, played in last year's Rookie-Sophomore game and finished second behind Wizards guard John Wall for MVP honors.

* Head coach Keith Smart said he would start tonight's game with Cousins, the Kings' 6-foot-11 center, guarding Kevin Durant, the Thunder's lanky small forward and explosive scorer -- then quickly explained he was kidding.

The Kings center was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge Feb. 24 as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.

"General managers" Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal will draft from a group of 18 players (nine rookies, nine sophomores) Feb. 16 on NBA TV to comprise Team Shaq and Team Chuck.

But what also stood out besides Fredette's fourth-quarter scoring (13 points) was his defensive activity in the Kings' 86-84 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night at Target Center.

Fredette had two steals that led to baskets in the fourth quarter.

MINNEAPOLIS - Donte' Greene missed a three pointer at the buzzer and the Kings' winning streak ended at three games.

The Kings rally in the fourth was led by Jimmer Fredette, who scored 13 of the first 15 points for the Kings in the quarter.

Greene tied the game at 82 with at three pointer with 1:09 left in the game only to have Minnesota rookie Derrick Williams make a three with 56.8 seconds to play.

Nikola Pekovic led Minnesota (13-12) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Thornton led the Kings (9-15) with 22 points.

THIRD QUARTER
Timberwolves 69, Kings 60

MINNEAPOLIS - The Timberwolves used an 8-1 run to close the quarter after the Kings had cut a lead that was 15 down to two.

Marcus Thornton scored 10 of his 21 points in the third but there hasn't been much else in terms of offense from the Kings. Tyreke Evans has 11 points, but the Kings also have 15 turnovers and are shooting 38.1 percent.

Nikola Pekovic has 23 points, eight rebounds and three steals for the Timberwolves. Ricky Rubio is up to 13 assists.

Here are five things to monitor when the Kings play the Minnesota Timberwolves"

1. Keep it 100
The Kings are 4-0 when scoring 100 points or more. When the Kings score like that, it usually means DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton are all having good games.

2. Consistency to start
The starting lineup of Cousins, Evans, Thornton, John Salmons and Jason Thompson is 5-0.

3. Road cushion
The Kings were resilient in rallying Monday night against the New Orleans Hornets. But even without suspended star Kevin Love, the Timberwolves are better than the Hornets. So falling behind wouldn't be a good idea.

4. Run, Ricky, Run
The Kings are in the second of back-to-back games. The Kings are 3-4 in the second of back-to-backs, but expect Minnesota to test the Kings' legs led by guard Ricky Rubio pushing the pace.

5. Isaiah, Chuck and....?
Who else will step up from the bench tonight? Isaiah Thomas and Chuck Hayes have become reliable reserves but the rest of the bench needs to play better.

"I want to be consistent with the bench guys and establish a rotation there and at one point have all five bench guys in the game and they are doing a great job," Smart said. "I've set aside several plays that they will only run that I though would fit them and keep the floor balanced."

Isaiah Thomas has been the most reliable bench player, sparking the Kings to comeback wins. Chuck Hayes is still the "arm and hammer" man as Smart calls him - a glue guy

The next step is figuring out how to best use the rest of the reserves.

Jimmer Fredette could play a big role in the improvement in the bench.

"I think (Fredette) can be a catalyst in that next group to where he can be one of the focal points in that second unit to where he's not locked in with other guys who are going to be mainstays when he's on the floor with the rest of the starting lineup," Smart said. "Him playing in that role will probably help him so when he does come in and play with some of the starters down the road. That's the plan, that's the vision."

Smart, however, isn't promising anyone playing time even if his vision is for the bench to thrive.

"That's what I want but they've got to produce," Smart said. "Because if not they'll sit over there and we'll watch the game all together from the sidelines."

Also, the last thing Stern (and his fellow owners) wants is the relocation of another team with a history of stability and success - albeit, of late, addled by some serious mismanagement. Thus, he continues to work behind the scenes with Mayor Kevin Johnson on the financing of a new sports and entertainment complex in the downtown Railyards. Assuming the community and Sacramento politcal/business leaders continue making progress toward the financing of a new facility, I keep hearing Stern will remain committed to Sacramento. Given the stunning last-minute reprieve when the Kings appeared head to Anaheim last April, nothing would surprise me. I keep hearing whispers that Stern has a dramatic play yet to come - something "up his sleeve," as they say.

By the way, the Kings are winning

A few thoughts on the Kings' impressive comeback victory Monday at New Orleans:
* DeMarcus Cousins has come up with 20 and 16 rebounds in the last two games, while playing 40 and 38 minutes, respectively. I will say it again: Contrary to what a number of national NBA writers suggested when Paul Westphal was fired, the second-year center wasn't the problem. The Kings' faster pace under coach Keith Smart has played to Cousins' strengths and improved his conditioning. Smart actually communicates with Cousins and his teammates - not a novel concept. It will be interesting to see how he responds Tuesday night in Minnesota in a back-to-back situation.

* John Salmons has been a different player under Smart. Even when he struggles with his outside shot, he is making quicker decisions, taking the shot or moving the ball, instead of overdribbling and killing the shot clock.

* Isaiah Thomas is quickly emerging as a fan favorite. On a team known for its sluggish, one-on-one play, his energy and tempo are driving the Kings out of their dreadful offensive style.

* Ricky Rubio awaits Tuesday night in Minnesota. Even with Kevin Love unavailable because of his two-game suspension, one suspects the Timberwolves' point guard will try to run the Kings into exhaustion. I would love to see Evans defensively challenge Rubio; with his long arms, quick hands, strength and anticipation, Tyreke has the potential to be a special defender.

* For those who might have forgotten, the Kings' last four-game win streak occurred last season between March 23-March 29. Seriously, in a 24-win season, who cared?

* The Oklahoma City Thunder visit Thursday, in the Kings' only scheduled appearance on TNT. Of course, that all changes if they start winning a few games. Chris Webber will be back to provide commentary.