Monday night was the home opener for the Sacramento Kings as they hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. And like most home openers, you had a lot of pre-game hype, lots of razzle-dazzle, etc., etc. Stuff that puts people like myself to sleep – unless your team has a track record of being successful.

Let’s face it folks – the Kings can hardly be called a successful NBA franchise by most peoples’ definitions. Fortunately for the Kings and the other teams in the league, the season is a week old, so hope springs eternal. In any case, the Kings home opener was one that the franchise has not experienced in recent memory as their top scorer Kevin Martin scored 7 of his game-high 48 points in overtime as Sacramento earned its first win of the season, 127-116, over Memphis.

The first period was like a roller coaster ride for the Kings as they were down 17-4 by a dunk by Memphis’ Rudy Gay halfway through the first quarter; but Martin would rally Sacramento by draining a three-pointer just before the buzzer which would give the Kings a one point lead early in the second quarter. Sacramento would go into halftime ahead by two at 56-54, courtesy of a pair of free throws by Spencer Hawes and rookie Omar Casspi – the latter free throw with no time remaining on the game clock.

A 3-point play by guard O.J. Mayo helped the Grizzlies reclaim the lead at 1:40 of the third quarter; Allen Iverson would make a pair of baskets 26 seconds apart which gave Memphis a 80-76; however, a free throw by Jason Thompson followed by a 19-footer by Martin allowed the Kings to get to within one at 80-79.

The fourth quarter was very tight indeed as both teams seemed to trade baskets for the most part; with 2 minutes left in the period, a pair of free throws by Martin put Sacramento up by one at104-103. A 3-pointer by Gay followed by a basket by Zach Randolph put Memphis up by two with 6 seconds left. Beno Udrih would tie the game at 110-all on a sweet assist by Spencer Hawes. Casspi stole an inbound pass from Randolph, but Udrih missed a trey at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

The extra period found the Kings running on all cylinders as a Casspi dunk followed by a 3-pointer by Andres Nocioni, giving Sacramento a 121-112 advantage with 48 seconds left. As expected, the Grizzlies fouled Martin late; he would make three of 4 free throws – the latter two with 26 seconds remaining – allowing the Kings and first-year coach Paul Westphal to secure their first win of the season.

Martin led all Kings’ scorers with a game and league high 48 points (including 7 three pointers) with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and a block while the Kings’  bench factored in greatly. Hawes added 21 along with 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks while Udrih chipped in 16 with 4 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. Casspi scored 15 (including 3 treys) with 4 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Memphis had six players in double-digits, led by Randolph with 30 points, 16 rebounds, an assist and a block while Mayo scored 22 with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; Gay added 21 with 13 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block while Marc Gasol poured in 16 with 16 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and 2 blocks.

Sacramento (1-3) plays again on Wednesday when they host the Atlanta Hawks while Memphis (1-3) makes the short journey to Oakland to take on the Golden State Warriors – also on Wednesday night.