AP News, February 26th, 2007
Kevin Martin scored 35 points, Mike Bibby added 28 and the Sacramento Kings beat the Indiana Pacers 110-93 without Ron Artest on Sunday night.
Artest was a no-show against his former team for personal reasons, a team spokesman said without elaborating. Indiana fans disliked Artest for his role in the brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans two seasons ago and for his public trade request last season.
Jermaine O'Neal had 19 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, and Mike Dunleavy added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers in their worst home loss of the season.
Sacramento had lost five of its previous six games, but the Kings held the Pacers to 38 percent shooting to improve to 8-20 on the road. It was Indiana's second consecutive loss after three straight wins.
The Pacers led 50-47 at halftime. The score was tied at 61 in the third quarter when Martin drove down the middle of the lane and dunked on O'Neal. John Salmons stuffed Indiana guard Darrell Armstrong's shot, then Bibby made a 3-pointer at the other end to give the Kings a 66-61 lead with 5:15 left in the third quarter.
The Kings later went on a 13-0 run that included nine points by Martin to take an 84-69 lead. Martin scored 21 points in the third quarter and Bibby scored 14 to help Sacramento take an 87-74 at the end of the period.
Sacramento extended its lead to 91-74 early in the fourth quarter, and never led by fewer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Notes:@ Salmons started in Artest's place and finished with six points and five assists. ... Artest scored 18 points in his return to Conseco Fieldhouse as a King last season, but shot 6-for-22 from the field, including 2-for-14 in the second half, in a 98-93 loss. ... Artest had scored 30 or more points in three of his last five games and is averaging 28 points per game since the All-Star break. ... The Pacers honored former Boston Celtics guard Dennis Johnson with a moment of silence. Johnson, who died last week, was a teammate of Pacers president Larry Bird.
