Kings surprise Lakers in upset victory

How? That is my question tonight. How! How in the heck did the Lakers lose to the Sacramento Kings tonight? A team that came into this game with a 5-16 record and have lost their last 8 games. OK, we knew the King would eventually win one at home but against the Lakers? The dominant team in the West? We knew the Kings had home court advantage in this game but when half of the arena is filled with Laker fans, is it really home court advantage? Enough of that, let's get to the game. The game that belonged to Fransico Garcia and John Salmons.

Who? Fransisco Garcia and John Salmons - that's who. Both had 21 points each in the surprising upset victory over the Lakers.

"It's probably our biggest win of the season, especially at home, since we've been struggling," Salmons said. "Hopefully we can grow from this. This was one of those games that could turn your whole season around. We could look back at tonight's game a year from now and say, 'The Lakers game was the turning point of this season."'

The Kings were playing without leader Kevin Martin but they weren't worried about it tonight. Sacramento took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter and scored eight straight points to go up 97-82 with 9 1/2 minutes to play. The Kings led by 17 with 6½ minutes left, increasing the lead even after Bryant returned, and Beno Udrih's layup with 3:17 left put Sacramento ahead 110-92.

Did the Lakers underestimate the Kings? Well - Maybe...

"We came in here thinking we were going to win, and we didn't respect our opponent," said Lamar Odom, who had just 11 points and eight rebounds. "You've got to play with a certain energy. If you don't you could lose to Westchester High School."

Kobe Bryant didn't have a good shooting night going 9-25 though he still managed 28 points to lead all scorers in the game. Pau Gasol had a good game going 9-15 from the field, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

This day, the Kings celebrate their 113-101 win over the Lakers but hopefully the Laker will be celebrating sweet revenge when the two teams meet up again Friday at the Staples Center.