Salmons’ Jumper With 1.6 Seconds Left In 3rd OT Allows Kings To Hold Off Warriors 135-133

What do you do when you’re the Sacramento Kings and you get blown out by the Orlando Magic on Tuesday?  You get back out on the hardwood and correct those mistakes you made.  Apparently, the Kings did just that – and then some; in their game Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, they matched the Warriors for 48 minutes.  So they go to overtime, which happens on occasion – tied score.  Long story short, 63 minutes – that’s including 3 overtime periods – later, John Salmons’ basket with 1.6 seconds left on the game clock helped Sacramento edge Golden State 135-133 at Oracle Arena.

Neither team shot well during the game – the Kings shot 40.9% while the Warriors shot 44.3% – yet Sacramento was hot in the first period as they outscored Golden State 31-20 in the first quarter while the Warriors clawed their way back into the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Kings 28-26 as they went into the locker room with a 9-point deficit at 57-48.  The third period was evenly played as Golden state narrowed their deficit to 7 going into the final period in regulation.  The Warriors finally got some offense going as they outscored the Kings 28-20 to go into the first overtime.

Sacramento nearly blew it in the first OT when Brad Miller got whistled for a technical foul with 2:17 left; Golden State’s Kelenna Azubuike made 3 free throws, but the Kings’ Francisco Garcia drained a 3-pointer, tying the game.  Kevin Martin had a chance to win the game, but he was stripped of the ball by Jamal Crawford, sending the game into a second OT.  Overtime period #2 saw both teams go nip-and-tuck as both teams scored 12 points each, sending the game to a third OT period.  The final OT period seemed more like a chess match as shot selection was a lot more selective, but the game mercifully came to an end when Salmons hit a jumper with 1.6 seconds left on the game clock, icing the game for the Kings.

Miller led all Sacramento scorers with his best effort of the season as he scored 30 points, 22 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot while Salmons added 25 (including 4 three-pointers) with 14 rebounds and 7 assists; Martin chipped in, scoring 23 with 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Garcia poured in 19 with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.  Beno Udrih scored 17 with 6 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal.

Golden State was led by Jamal Crawford with 35 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot while C.J. Watson added 26 with 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals; Corey Maggette pitched in 17 with 6 rebounds and 2 assists while Azubuike added 16 with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot.  Anthony Morrow came off the bench to score 15 with 9 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot.  Sacramento (10-30) returns home to rest as they will play again on Friday when they host the Milwaukee Bucks while Golden State (11-29) rests themselves as they also play again on Friday, hosting the Atlanta Hawks.

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