![]() The conference’ s top four teams, including the Lakers and Spurs who were paired up in the other semi-final, had all won more games than New Jersey, the #1 seed in the East. Dallas won 57 games and being just a 4-seed underscored the strength of the West. Two days later, Stojakovic found his shooting touch and knocked down 30 points, Malone was held to three rebounds, and the Kings clinched the series on the road. A 90-87 win reclaimed homecourt advantage for the top seed. While the shooting was still cold, Webber led a ferocious team rebounding effort that dominated the glass and Malone looked the part of a 38-year-old. On the final Saturday of April, they took care of business. The Kings went to Salt Lake City needing to win one of two to stay alive. And forward Donyell Marshall, at 15 ppg, was the only one in the supporting cast able to step up.īut veterans know how to dig deep in the playoffs and after a narrow loss in Game 1, Utah finagled a road win in Game 2 after Sacramento shot the ball poorly. Utah still had the revered duo of Karl Malone at power forward and John Stockton at the point , but Malone was 38, Stockton was 39 and while both were good players, neither was a superstar anymore. Sacramento’s first-round opponent would be the Utah Jazz, with the teams having reversed positions in the Western Conference pecking order since their 1999 playoff meeting. Still, the lack of head-to-head success against Shaq and Kobe had to be a concern as the playoffs began. But on March 24 the Kings ripped off 11 straight wins to get to 60-19 and lock up the #1 seed in the West and overall.Įven though a loss in the final game to Los Angeles left them 1-3 against the Lakers, Sacramento could at least write that off of as meaningless, while Los Angeles was playing for the #2 record. Sacramento got revenge on Los Angeles with a December 7 win at home, and then two weeks later started a 12-game win streak through the soft spot on their schedule that ran the record to 31-9.Ī brief stretch of up and down play including losses to the Spurs and Mavericks and March began with two more losses, plus another defeat at the Staples Center. The Kings closed November with quality road wins at Dallas and San Antonio, the latter in overtime. Sacramento won seven of nine to start the year, but one of the losses was at Los Angeles. The early part of the season underscored both the promise and the problems. This was a team that was deep, well-put together with clearly defined roles and a go-to player in Webber good enough to win a championship with. ![]() Other key roles were filled by Dough Christie a 12 ppg scorer at small forward, and former Laker center Vlade Divac, who helped Webber hit the glass and chipped in some scoring help.Ģ2-year-old Hedo Turkoglu was the best player on the bench, a future starter on a Finals team in Orlando (2009) while Scot Pollard could help with rebounding and Bobby Jackson added decent minutes in the backcourt. ![]() Peja Stojakovic was lights-out from three-point range. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSĬhris Webber was the power forward and the clear star of the team, averaging 25 points/10 rebounds a night, while Mike Bibby, a good shooter and playmaker keyed the backcourt. The 2002 Sacramento Kings had to feel like their time had come. In 2001 the Kings broke the 50-win barrier, winning the franchise’s first playoff series since relocating. One year later they went 44-38 and squared off the Lakers, again going to a fifth before coming up short. 1999 saw them go 27-23 and take Utah to a decisive fifth game in the first round of the playoffs. In 1999, they enjoyed a breakthrough year in the strike-shortened season of 1999 and began a slow ascent. The Sacramento Kings had been one of the NBA’s historically inept franchises.
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