Thursday, October 18, 2007

Kings 105, Jazz 91

Kevin Martin scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz 105-91 in an exhibition game Thursday night.

Brad Miller and Francisco Garcia each added 13 points, while John Salmons, Mike Bibby and Ron Artest had 11 for Sacramento (2-2).

Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur finished with 15 points apiece for the Jazz (3-3), while Deron Williams had 12 and Ronnie Brewer 10.

The Kings trailed much of the first half but ended the second quarter with a 13-0 run, going ahead for good on a basket by Kenny Thomas with 1:41 to go. They led 53-48 at halftime and extended it to 79-70 going into the fourth period.

Martin made all five of his field goal attempts in the third quarter and the Kings never looked back.

Sacramento coach Reggie Theus rested his starters in the fourth quarter, though Artest came off the bench and scored six of his 11 points in the final period.

It was a homecoming for Thomas, who played at Albuquerque High and in college at New Mexico. He received a rousing cheer from the crowd of 7,507 during introductions, then had seven points and six rebounds in 27 minutes.

Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, who grew up in Albuquerque, watched from courtside seats and signed autographs afterward. Their mother, Colleen, was honored at halftime for her family's contributions to New Mexico sports activities.

Theus, who jumped to the NBA after two seasons at New Mexico State, got a loud welcome two nights earlier in Las Cruces, N.M., when the Kings lost to Dallas, but his introduction barely caused a stir this time.

He was greeted with a subdued mix of cheers and boos.

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