Kings Apr 2002 Archive

• Well done: Jazz give it their all but fall short

  Deseret News | Apr 30, 2002

  After Game 1, Vlade Divac declared the Jazz "done.

• At least we had fun while it lasted

  Deseret News | Apr 30, 2002

  Weird thing is, it was interesting.

• Mavs Meet Match in Kings

  Dallas Morning News | Apr 30, 2002

  The Mavericks have proven all season that an up-tempo, fast-breaking, high-scoring game is both successful and entertaining.

• Sacramento takes series 3-1, now awaits Dallas

  ESPN | Apr 30, 2002

  All along, Vlade Divac believed the Sacramento Kings would outlast the Utah Jazz.

• Final verse for epic Jazz?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2002

  Vroom, vroom.

• Peja finds his stroke, and it's just in time

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2002

  The first time he shot the ball.

• "I'm not taking any negatives from this series"

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2002

  Chris Webber: "I'm not taking any negatives from this series.

• Desperate & decisive

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2002

  Nobody said a possible run to the championship was going to be easy.

• Escape from Utah

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 30, 2002

  There, all done.

• Finished in four

  Standard Examiner | Apr 30, 2002

  Peja Stojakovic's nightmare shooting slump came to a rousing end Monday night.

• Divac's Prediction, Though a Little Off, Was Right

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 30, 2002

  Glory Hallelujah.

• Jazz Made Kings Work For This One

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 30, 2002

  Anyone who knows the Jazz, who knows John Stockton and Karl Malone, who knows the tenacity of coach Jerry Sloan and who knows the franchise -- how ever early it has exited from the playoffs before -- shouldn't be surprised that Utah fought to the bitter end Monday night against Sacramento.

• Kings oust scrappy Jazz from playoffs

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 30, 2002

  Another close game, another close loss.

• Stockton not thinking past tonight

  | Apr 29, 2002

  John Stockton insists he hasn't given it any thought yet, but tonight's game could be the last of his storied 18-year NBA career.

• Added motivation to win in Utah: More rest

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2002

  If the Kings didn't already have a sense of urgency regarding tonight's opportunity to end their first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz, they might have found some added motivation following an NBC promotion Sunday.

• Divac is a man of his words

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2002

  Say what you will about Vlade Divac, that he could apply a little more elbow grease around the basket, contribute a few more field goals and assists than he did Saturday (none of each) and perhaps should consider curbing his tongue when the refs are within hearing distance.

• All about survival for Kings

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2002

  The moment arrived as if cued by the God of Suggested Themes.

• The benchmark: Are the Kings' reserves producing enough?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 29, 2002

  Bobby Jackson, Scot Pollard and Hedo Turkoglu aren't exactly the aptly named "Bench Mob" of the Kings teams a few seasons ago.

• Where's Peja?

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 29, 2002

  Peja Stojakovic, the Sacramento Kings" second-leading scorer this season, averaged 21 points a game to earn his first All-Star selection.

• Marshalling a plan

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 29, 2002

  Donyell Marshall didn"t get a crack at the Sacramento Kings until late in the regular season but once he did, everything changed.

• Jazz Nearing End of an Era

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 29, 2002

  For the Jazz, Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against Sacramento could be their last one this season.

• Jazz Fighting Valiantly In Battle They Can't Win

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 29, 2002

  This playoff series between the Jazz and Kings is evolving into a passing of the torch, a postseason handoff from one small-market wonder to another.

• Russell Running Out of Time to Break Out of Funk

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 29, 2002

  Bryon Russell and the Jazz are waiting for his breakout game.

• Webber: 'We're in rhythm now'

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 28, 2002

  Chris Webber heard the call of the fans.

• Jazz fail in clutch yet again

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 28, 2002

  Finishing games, or rather their frustrating inability to do so, is an agonizing weakness that has haunted the Utah Jazz all season long.

• Frenetic finish

  Standard-Examiner | Apr 28, 2002

  The search continues.

• Stojakovic rebounds, just not with his shot

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2002

  Who'd have thunk it? The team with one of the sweetest offenses in memory is shooting an abysmal 85 of 223 (38.

• Motto: Peja now and Peja later

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2002

  It pretty much comes down to this: The Kings won't let Peja Stojakovic bail out.

• Bibby has a career day at the right time

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2002

  Mike Bibby played the Jazz like a set of drums, tap, tap, tapping until he found the rhythm, the preferred mood, the timely stroke.

• Just awfully lucky

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 28, 2002

  The Kings better not need any more luck, no matter how far they go in the playoffs.

• Kings Find Beating Jazz Is Not Easy

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2002

  The Sacramento Kings can count their lucky stars -- and they know they were lucky Saturday afternoon -- that they drew the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs.

• Kings' Bench Not Just Sitting Around

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2002

  JAZZ PLAYOFF NOTES Ballyhooed during the regular season and maligned for the last week, the Sacramento Kings' bench players finally made a playoff contribution.

• Jazz Hurting After Beating Themselves

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2002

  It was grim.

• 'Foul' Mood? Stock's Loss Hurts Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2002

  John Stockton fouled out of an NBA playoff game for the first time his illustrious, 18-year career.

• Last-Minute Meltdown

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 28, 2002

  With 1:19 left in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with Sacramento on Saturday, the Jazz could not have been in better position.

• Rebounds spell the difference

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  It's the kind of glaring statistic that leaps off the page of a boxscore, the sort of disparity that makes one wonder how on earth the game ended up close.

• Divac is unfazed by ire of Jazz fans

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  Though he fouled out, went 0-for-5 from the field and was the focal point of Jazz fan ire Saturday, Kings center Vlade Divac left the Delta Center content.

• Key late-game calls questioned

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  Besides being upset with themselves for their Game 3 playoff loss to Sacramento, the Jazz didn't seem real thrilled with the refs Saturday.

• Stockton watches game slip by

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  How many times over the years have Jazz fans seen John Stockton hit the big shot at the end of a game? For the past 17 years, Stockton has been one of the best clutch shooters in the NBA.

• Only surprise is how Jazz are losing

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  Strange as it seems, improbable as it sounds, it is small things that have been the Utah Jazz's downfall in this year's NBA playoffs.

• Jazz fall flat

  Deseret News | Apr 28, 2002

  Like a coup waiting to happen, the team that couldn't come close to Sacramento in the regular season nudged close to the Kings.

• Kings must respond in kind to Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2002

  According to Kings reserve forward Chucky Brown, his team's candy has been taken by the Utah Jazz in the first two games of their best-of-five Western Conference playoff series.

• Hey, guys! Turn the frowns upside-down!

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2002

  Not to go all Mister Rogers on you at a time when blood-lust and personalized sets of mace cans are swinging into postseason vogue, but has anybody seen the joy? You remember it.

• A passing fancy? Hardly

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2002

  Short shorts.

• Maloofs want -- and need -- the Kings to win

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 27, 2002

  When the Maloof family took over the Kings in 1999, they got a call from Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, who had prophetic advice: "He said (the NBA) is unlike any business because your livelihood is in the hands of 25-year-olds," said Joe Maloof, who runs the Kings with his brother Gavin.

• Contrast of styles

  Standard Examiner | Apr 27, 2002

  The way adjustments are made over the course of a series, playoff basketball often gets compared to a chess match.

• Jazz need to stay true to tempo

  Deseret News | Apr 27, 2002

  I was watching a "Biography" piece about actor Jack Palance the other night on A&E.

• Jazz still looking to improve

  Deseret News | Apr 27, 2002

  Getting Karl Malone to watch game film is a lot like dragging macho men to a chick flick.

• Kings Know Situation Too Well

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 27, 2002

  The Jazz have Sacramento in a "trick-box," as coach Jerry Sloan likes to say.

• Sloan's Coaching Style Caught Mighty Kings Sleeping at Arco

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 27, 2002

  OK, wake up, everybody.

• Who Wants Control?

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 27, 2002

  In the NBA, there are always games within the game.

• Another bad flashback for Kings

  ESPN | Apr 26, 2002

  The Utah Jazz hasn't grabbed control of the first-round matchup against the heavily favored Sacramento Kings.

• Controlling their emotions goal of Kings

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2002

  There may not be a more emotional team in the land than the Kings.

• Kings' offense looks to free itself from Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2002

  The first-round playoff series between the Kings and Utah Jazz is suddenly intriguing for some and downright scary for others.

• Don't worry, Kings fans: It's not over -- yet

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2002

  Problem: Great, now the Utah Jazz is in the driver's seat and the Kings have punted home-court advantage.

• Utah is Siberia to some, but not Kirilenko

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2002

  In the course of an otherwise disappointing Utah Jazz season, Andrei Kirilenko, the Twiggy-thin rookie with the thick Russian accent -- and heavy on the humor -- may have pulled off the coup of a generation.

• Old-School Mates

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 26, 2002

  Dick Motta has a message for two of his prized pupils, the old coach still passing the good word.

• A matter of maturity

  Standard Examiner | Apr 26, 2002

  Jerry Sloan might not find any satisfaction in the compliment, but Sacramento star Chris Webber says the Jazz coach deserves credit for the Kings" success.

• (Nearly) everything you want to know

  Deseret News | Apr 26, 2002

  Because the first two playoff games were in Sacramento, you undoubtedly watched from the comfort of your living room.

• A physical re-exam

  Deseret News | Apr 26, 2002

  All the talk between Games 1 and 2 of the first NBA playoff series between the Jazz and the Kings — besides Sacramento center Vlade Divac mumbling something about the Jazz being "done" and Utah suggesting otherwise — centered on how supposedly physical things had become.

• Taking shots on, off court

  | Apr 25, 2002

  No, Vlade, that was their best shot.

• In a surprising series, Jazz now have the edge against Kings

  Yahoo! | Apr 25, 2002

  Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz are not ignoring the script.

• Scary movie: Watching film of Game 2 is 'ugly'

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2002

  Film does not lie, and Wednesday afternoon each member of the Kings was subjected to the misery that was Game 2 against the Utah Jazz.

• West alert: Kings are vulnerable

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2002

  Right, let's tally up the damage, since "lost a lousy game on a weeknight in the first round" doesn't precisely cover it.

• It's time for reflection

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 25, 2002

  There were more questions than answers floating around the Kings' practice facility Wednesday afternoon.

• Divac's bold prediction a big flop

  Standard Examiner | Apr 25, 2002

  Memo to Vlade Divac: It looks like the Utah Jazz are NOT -- uh, how do you say -- done.

• 'Tag Makes Presence Felt in First 2 Games

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 25, 2002

  The Sacramento Kings had probably forgotten all about Greg Ostertag.

• Who is Scot Pollard? Kings center is happy just being himself

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 25, 2002

  The first thing you need to know about Kings backup center Scot Pollard is this: He's not as weird as he looks.

• Suddenly, Jazz Are Un'done'

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 25, 2002

  Jazz coach Jerry Sloan gave his players a morning off Wednesday.

• Jazz quiet Arco Arena crowd by leading throughout game

  Deseret News | Apr 24, 2002

  Cowbells a-ringin', the Sacramento Kings' Arco Arena crowd is normally a raucous one.

• Open mouth, insert hightop

  Deseret News | Apr 24, 2002

  If you're a Kings fan, you could blame the Jazz's surprising 93-86 playoff win Tuesday night on the re-emergence of players such as Andrei Kirilenko, Bryon Russell and Donyell Marshall.

• Pull the fork out — Jazz aren't done yet

  Deseret News | Apr 24, 2002

  Pull the fork out of 'em.

• Jazz beat Kings 93-86 in Game 2 shocker

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  Jerry Sloan and John Stockton led the undermanned Utah Jazz into the NBA's toughest arena and emerged with a startling victory.

• Series isn't over, but Divac isn't done

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  Didn't someone say this series was over? Ooops.

• Lots of answers to one question

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  A simple question.

• Jazz lets the scoreboard do the talking

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  Then again .

• Jazz is winning in battle of minds

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  So the Kings once beat the Utah Jazz by 33 points this season .

• Kings, what was that?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 24, 2002

  The Kings would have believed a million other things before this: That their offense has begun to resemble that of the New York Knicks.

• Jazz bench gets job done vs. Kings again

  Standard Examiner | Apr 24, 2002

  Sacramento's vaunted bench was a no-show again on Tuesday.

• Jazz refuse to roll over

  Standard Examiner | Apr 24, 2002

  Arctic glaciers move faster than the Utah-Sacramento playoff game Tuesday night.

• Kings Credit Jazz for Their Success

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 24, 2002

  Almost unanimously, the Kings credit their playoff experience against the Jazz in 1999 as the start of their rise to the NBA's elite level.

• Underdog Jazz get improbable win on road to tie series

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 24, 2002

  The series nobody thought the Jazz could win turned in their favor Tuesday night.

• At 40, Stockton can still change a game

  ESPN | Apr 23, 2002

  Rarely does a player miss two chances to send a playoff game into overtime and walk away standing somehow taller in the mind's eye.

• 'They're done' label doesn't bother Jazz

  Deseret News | Apr 23, 2002

  If the Kings were worried about Vlade Divac lighting a fire under the Jazz with his "They're done" statement, they can relax.

• Outside shooting is key to Jazz chances tonight

  Deseret News | Apr 23, 2002

  While managing the legendarily dreadful 1963 Mets, Casey Stengel at one point lamented: "Can't anybody here play this game?" Jazz coach Jerry Sloan hasn't reached that point, but he is wondering — to paraphrase: "Can't anybody here shoot this ball?" If not for some woeful perimeter shooting — a failing that has plagued the Jazz all season — they might be 1-0 in their first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings, a series that resumes Tuesday night at Arco Arena.

• Kings' only goal: title

  Deseret News | Apr 23, 2002

  The rest of the Kings are being a little more careful with what they say than Vlade Divac has.

• Kirilenko gets 'Euro-K' from Kings

  Deseret News | Apr 23, 2002

  His first NBA playoff experience was Saturday, making jitters a reasonable explanation for his Game 1 struggles.

• Hope of coronation grips Kings country

  Deseret News | Apr 23, 2002

  The DJ on the clock radio, last Saturday morning, informed me the playoffs were about to begin.

• Divac intends to play more aggressively

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2002

  If there's one man especially eager to get things started tonight, it's Vlade Divac.

• Blow the whistle, or let them play? We'll see

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2002

  This just in from the Department of You Maybe Knew That Already: It's all about the big whistle.

• A 2-0 series lead would be a whole new world for Kings

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 23, 2002

  Basic arithmetic reveals the importance of tonight's Western Conference playoff game between the Kings and the Utah Jazz at Arco Arena.

• Jazz ignore Divac's cocky prediction

  Standard Examiner | Apr 23, 2002

  Bulletin-board fodder rarely works beyond high school or college, but for a team like the Jazz, where focus and concentration have been a problem all season, that might be what gets their attention.

• Kings Not Short On Confidence

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 23, 2002

  If the Jazz are bothered by an apparent lack of respect from the Kings, it doesn't show.

• Fans in Sacramento Feel Good About Kings, Life

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 23, 2002

  Jonathon Severs slips out from behind the sandwich counter at Capitol Cafe, on the corner of J and 13th streets in downtown Sacramento, feeling fine about his place in the universe right now, feeling good about life, thanks, in large part, to a basketball team that just a few short seasons ago was a bane and a curse.

• Moral victory or not, Jazz still trailing 0-1

  Deseret News | Apr 22, 2002

  A day later, it still didn't feel like a moral victory.

• Divac defends bulletin-board material quote

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  This is what happens on off days if you're out-of-town media: Before finding the best golf course and watering hole, you scrounge through press clippings to find a morsel to toss to the wolves -- or in this case, the Kings -- to get a juicy sound bite.

• Losing to Utah in 1999 was better for now

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  Five players remain.

• Kings need a quick KO of bellicose Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  The glass half-full: Sacramento leads its first-round playoff series 1-0 over Utah despite having played what easily qualifies as its worst effort at full strength in the past three weeks.

• Divac defends bulletin-board material quote

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  This is what happens on off days if you're out-of-town media: Before finding the best golf course and watering hole, you scrounge through press clippings to find a morsel to toss to the wolves -- or in this case, the Kings -- to get a juicy sound bite.

• Losing to Utah in 1999 was better for now

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  Five players remain.

• Kings need a quick KO of bellicose Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 22, 2002

  The glass half-full: Sacramento leads its first-round playoff series 1-0 over Utah despite having played what easily qualifies as its worst effort at full strength in the past three weeks.

• Divac Already Is Writing Off Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 22, 2002

  The NBA requires three wins before declaring a victor in the first round of the playoffs.

• Divac Already Is Writing Off Jazz

  | Apr 22, 2002

  The NBA requires three wins before declaring a victor in the first round of the playoffs.

• Jazz plays it rough, delivers a message

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 21, 2002

  If the Kings were hoping for a sweet, one-sided little series, for a fast sprint to the opening-round finishing line, they can forget about it.

• 'They're done,' Divac says of Jazz

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 21, 2002

  And then there was the dagger that didn't miss.

• From uh-oh to 1-0

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 21, 2002

  Whew! By now, the Kings have probably discarded the "formula" they used to defeat the Utah Jazz 89-86 Saturday afternoon at Arco Arena as Sacramento took a 1-0 lead in the first-round, best-of-five Western Conference playoff series.

• Oh so close: Jazz waste opportunities to upset Kings

  Deseret News | Apr 21, 2002

  Four times during the regular season, they said they could play with the Sacramento Kings.

• Signs of life

  Standard Examiner | Apr 21, 2002

  John Stockton's Arco Arena magic apparently expired in 1999.

• Jazz Slow Kings, Almost Enough to Win

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2002

  There's an old saying in basketball: You can't run without the ball.

• Like It or Not, Jazz Did Achieve Moral Victory Vs. Kings

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2002

  After the blue lights during the pregame intros had been turned off, after the sweat had been mopped off the floor, after the emotions of the fans here in Sacramento's Arco Arena had been tossed into a blender for 48 minutes on Saturday, after the Kings and Jazz had sumo wrestled and belly-bronced and played Twister with each other through an entire playoff game, flopping and scrumming and colliding, after the Jazz failed to tie the score with two clear shot attempts in the closing seconds, including a three-pointer by John Stockton that dipped into the throat of the basket and then swirled around the rim like a Spalding on a string, after the Jazz had lost 89-86 when another Stockton three barely missed the bottom of the net as time finally huffed and puffed and sputtered out, something was restored to the losers.

• Letting 1 Get Away

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 21, 2002

  Separated from Sacramento by 17 victories during the regular season, Utah looked as if it did not belong in the same league.

• Someday is here today for the Kings

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2002

  And so it turns out that the most difficult part is admitting it.

• Ready for Round 1

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 20, 2002

  The Kings have amassed quite a few statistical achievements this season.

• No. 8 over No. 1: Only happened twice since 1984

  Deseret News | Apr 20, 2002

  Odds are stacked high against the eighth-seeded Jazz in their quest to upset the NBA Western Conference's No.

• 'Tall order' awaits Jazz

  Deseret News | Apr 20, 2002

  Erasing the memory of four ugly losses to the Sacramento Kings is like losing weight.

• Extra Point: Jazz face imposing challenge

  Standard Examiner | Apr 20, 2002

  Any one of four Western Conference teams could win this year's NBA championship.

• Kings hope to build on past series

  Standard Examiner | Apr 20, 2002

  That epic seven-game series with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1988 Western Conference semifinals proved to be a coming of age party for the Utah Jazz.

• Jazz in another uphill fight

  Standard Examiner | Apr 20, 2002

  It started with an overtime loss to Milwaukee on opening night.

• Jazz vs. Kings Matchup

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 20, 2002

  Karl Malone (6-9, 256)Chris Webber (6-10, 245) Webber averages 24.

• Jazz Open Playoffs Against Kings

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 20, 2002

  The Jazz face two formidable opponents in the first round of the playoffs: the Sacramento Kings and history.

• Is end near for Malone in Utah?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2002

  Rain, sleet, snow and dead of night is one thing, but the part about a selfish locker room, teammates out of shape and going down with the ship never came up in the oath.

• Fans are spending like crazy to buy Kings playoff tickets

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2002

  Seldom have so many been so willing to be exploited.

• Kings wary of this reward

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 19, 2002

  When does the NBA's best regular-season record and four victories over a tough conference opponent mean absolutely nothing? When you're the Kings and you have to face the Utah Jazz in a first-round, best-of-five playoff series beginning Saturday at Arco Arena.

• Turnover troubles

  Standard Examiner | Apr 19, 2002

  For the Jazz to have any chance in their first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings, they need to find a way to turn off the turnovers.

• No 8 and counting

  Deseret News | Apr 18, 2002

  To a man, the Jazz spoke of starting the NBA playoffs with a clean slate.

• Kings vs. Jazz: A look ahead

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2002

  The teams played four times, if you can call it that.

• The Kings avoid injury and look ahead to Utah

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 18, 2002

  The Kings did find out they will play the Utah Jazz in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

• Matchup Against Kings Could Be Ugly for Jazz

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 18, 2002

  Review the numbers, break down the individual matchups, compare each team -- any way you look at it, the Jazz's playoff experience this season is expected to get ugly.

• Kings have a very close call

  | Apr 11, 2002

• Warriors' rally comes up short

  | Apr 11, 2002

• Kings are life of the party

  | Apr 11, 2002

• Slow-starting Warriors almost finish in style

  | Apr 11, 2002

• Wolves 100, Golden State 93

  Associated Press | Apr 10, 2002

• Peja is as good as new

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 6, 2002

  Kings small forward Peja Stojakovic's status had been day-to-day for so long, he might as well have been a calendar.

• Peja is back, and it appears so seamless

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 6, 2002

  The scary-good portion of the program commenced shortly after 7 p.

• Raging on road, Kings set win mark

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 6, 2002

  If it seems as if the Kings establish a franchise record every time they step onto the court these days, it's because they do.

• Malone watches Jazz rally fall short

  Deseret News | Apr 6, 2002

  Reality is four losses in as many meetings this season.

• Sloan, Amaechi forge uneasy truce

  Deseret News | Apr 6, 2002

  "The dishing out of suspensions is not my domain," Amaechi, a prim-and-proper Brit, said when asked if he was OK with the one-game suspension Sloan doled following a verbal spat between the two in Utah's Wednesday night win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

• Rematch with Kings not happy prospect

  Deseret News | Apr 6, 2002

  Not so long ago, the Sacramento Kings were nothing for the Utah Jazz to worry about.

• Minus Malone, Jazz throw a scare at Kings

  Standard Examiner | Apr 6, 2002

  Tom McEachin writes about the Utah Jazz almost pulled off something magical -- a win over the Kings.

• Undermanned Jazz can't stop Webber down the stretch

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 6, 2002

  The Jazz didn't have Karl Malone.

• Jazz don't want Kings

  Deseret News | Apr 5, 2002

  Tim Buckley writes about Utah's game with the Kings.

• Will Kings take none for team?

  Sacramento Bee | Apr 5, 2002

  Karl Malone is not rebounding or scoring as as he once did, but the Kings cannot overlook talent, according to Martin McNeal.

• Jazz facing King-sized challenge

  Standard Examiner | Apr 5, 2002

  Tom McEachin writes about how the players (and fans) want to try and avoid the NBA's best team in the first round.

• Playoff Seedings At Stake

  Salt Lake Tribune | Apr 5, 2002

  The Salt Lake Tribune's beat-writer Steve Luhm weighs the importance of tonight's big game against the Sacramento Kings.

• Wolves eye schedule, speculate on playoff opponent

  Star Tribune | Apr 2, 2002