Kings Beat Lakers In Season Opener
SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) - The Kings came back to their Sacramento home court to start the 2011-12 season with a national anthem performed by hometown band Tesla's Frank Hannon on Monday night, then went out and gave home fans plenty more to cheer about with a 100-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Maloof brothers and their sister of Orange County "Real Housewives" fame were back in their courtside seats after nearly orchestrating a move to Anaheim in April before NBA owners gave Sacramento one more season to prove it is an NBA city.
Mayor Kevin Johnson was in the sold-out arena as well, hoping the numbers are in a his favor when the city council votes on a plan to privatize parking to help pay for a new downtown arena. The league has given the city a March 1 deadline to have a financing plan in place.
But Monday night was about the numbers on the court.
Marcus Thornton led the Kings with 27 points and added five rebounds and three assists. Tyreke Evans scored 20 points and DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 29 points but shot 10 of 24 from the floor.
"It was nice to be back," coach Paul Westphal said. "It was wild in there and our players really liked the feeling of that game. The fans were just fantastic."
The Kings had lost nine of 10 to the Lakers and five straight at home.
"It's not a rivalry," Kobe Bryant said. "We beat them every year. Oh my God. I don't care if they beat us tonight. I like (Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof). I hope they enjoy this."
Metta World Peace, the former Kings player who changed his name from Ron Artest, added 19 for the Lakers, who opened the season with consecutive losses for the first time since 2002-03, putting a damper on the start of new coach Mike Brown's tenure.
"We have a lot of games left, a lot of games left," World Peace said. "Everything is going OK. Everything will be great."
The Kings lost their season finale to the Lakers in overtime about eight months ago when they were on the verge of moving to Anaheim.
Now that the team is staying in Sacramento, at least for this season, newcomers Jimmer Fredette, Chuck Hayes and all of the Kings say they're eager to play. Fredette had six points in his Kings debut and Hayes, whose contract was voided after failing a physical and then brought back after heart doctors cleared him, had seven points and nine rebounds.
"It's just a fabulous story," Kings Vice President Geoff Petrie said of Hayes, who is from Modesto. "It was such an odyssey. He is a really unique player."
Monday was a night of celebration for the Kings in a season still without a lot of uncertainty.
