February 28th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
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Depending on your point of view and whether you are a Sacramento Kings fan or simply follow the team, their game Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers had no meaning, except for the win-loss column. It can be said that the Kings played excellent defense or that the Clippers couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. No matter the insight, the Kings led from nearly the beginning to the end as they soundly defeated the Clippers 98-86 at Arco Arena.
After spotting Los Angeles a brief lead, Sacramento scored the final 10 points of the first quarter as they went into the second quarter ahead 27-18; Kevin Martin 13 points and Andres Nocioni added 9 in the first half as the Kings took a 52-39 lead to their locker room at halftime. Sacramento built up their lead up to 24 in the third quarter and coasted the rest of the way for the victory.
Sacramento was led by Martin with 20 points (including 4 three-pointers), 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Bobby Jackson added 18 (including 3 treys)with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block; Nocioni poured in 17 with 2 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block while Francisco Garcia chipped in 15 with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block.
Baron Davis and Steve Novak shared high scoring honors for Los Angeles with 13 points each – with Davis dishing out 4 assists along with 4 steals, but committing 5 turnovers while Novak grabbed 4 boards along with a steal. Sacramento (13-47) plays again on Saturday when they fly to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz while Los Angeles (15-44) returns home to host the Charlotte Bobcats – also on Saturday night.
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