SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Although Kevin Martin's game-winning layup over Tim
Duncan was a moment to remember forever, the Sacramento Kings' young guard spent
the following day trying to forget it for the time being.
Martin's improbable basket catapulted the Kings to a 94-93 victory over San
Antonio on Friday night, cutting the Spurs' lead in their first-round series to
2-1. Martin was mobbed by his teammates and the Kings' owners in a bedlam
postgame scene that turned a bit overzealous for a club still 15 victories away
from an NBA title.
But as the Kings returned to practice before Game 4 on Sunday night, Martin
was doing his best to heed the words of teammate Corliss Williamson.
"One of the vets told me once midnight comes, it's a new day — good or bad
game," Martin said Saturday. "So I'll just take that advice from him, because
the same thing could happen in Game 4 and go their way. They could have a luck
bounce, too."
Forgive Martin, the Maloofs and the Kings for their enthusiasm. After a Game
1 blowout, a Game 2 heartbreaker and an excruciating fourth quarter in Game 3,
Sacramento thought it was finished when Michael Finley hit a go-ahead 3-pointer
and Ron Artest made a turnover.
But Manu Ginobili's turnover led to Martin's layup at the buzzer — and while
the Kings got a cathartic celebration, the Spurs suddenly were forced to regroup
after their own difficult loss.
San Antonio has been outplayed for long stretches of the last two games of
the series, but the NBA's best road team could take a prohibitive lead in Game
4. After three championships in the last seven seasons, Duncan and coach Gregg
Popovich have been here before — and the Kings know it.
"They want to go home so they can finish it," Kings coach Rick Adelman said.
"So we've got to be better, got to get better every game. We got better (Friday
night) in a lot of areas, and we've got to get better Sunday."
The Kings' biggest adjustments should be on defense after the Spurs made 51.5
percent of their shots in the first three games. With rebounds and turnovers
exactly equal, San Antonio's superior shot selection and execution has been the
difference in the series, Sacramento's Game 3 steal notwithstanding.