But the highly-favored Sonics, coming off two wins in a row, never bargained for an explosive performance by 6-7, 185-pound third-year offguard Kevin (K-Mart) Martin who’s an early pick for the league’s Most Improved Player award this season.
Martin, 23, is a long-armed, elongated sweet shooter in the Reggie Miller mold. He’s quick on the draw and a blur on the court. K-Mart wears No. 23 and it’s no coincidence he’s playing like a Michael Jordan for the Kings. He may not be as effective defensively as another play-alike Tayshaun Prince but with Denver’s Kenyon Martin out for the season, the only K-Mart to hog the headlines is the man from Sacramento.
Against the Sonics, the Kings were badly crippled. Forward Ron Artest sat out the action with a lower back strain while center Brad Miller is nursing a partially torn plantar fascia in the left foot.
New coach Eric Musselman used only eight players, opting to bench rookie Quincy Douby, five-year pro Jason Hart, 10-year pro Vitaly Potapenko and nine-year pro Maurice Taylor. Five of the eight Kings logged at least 32 minutes of playing time, meaning Musselman kept his rotation tight.
It was close in the first half as the teams battled to nine lead changes and six ties. The Kings led, 53-52, on a last second steal and breakaway dunk by offseason recruit John Salmons.
Then, Martin took over in the third period as he hit 14 points, including 10 straight, to silence the homecrowd of 16,757. He went on to knock in 10 more points in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-high 35 on 12-of-19 from the floor and 7-of-9 free throws.
Sacramento erected an 18-point lead on Corliss Williamson’s basket, 97-79, with 6:20 left and coasted to a 109-100 victory. Watson buried a triple at the buzzer to end the massacre.
Seattle coach Bob Hill’s thick white hair grew even whiter as he just couldn’t figure out how to stop the Kings‚ second half juggernaut. When the Sonics went small, the Kings took advantage by pounding the ball inside. When the Sonics went big, the Kings brought the offense to the perimeter.
Seattle assistant coach Detlef Schrempf told The Star the Sonics don’t play as tough with a small lineup and it was evident against the Kings who dominated the matchups in the frontline and the backcourt. Sacramento had more points in the paint, 54-46, and more triples, 9-6.
Hill sent in two point guards Watson and Luke Ridnour in a late experiment to try and save the game. He put Watson on Bibby and kept Ridnour in the mix because of his firepower. Ray Allen was assigned to Martin, leaving Ridnour in a mismatch against the burly Williamson at the three-spot. The result was disastrous.
The game exposed the Sonics‚ weakness in the middle. Kings frontliners Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kenny Thomas and Williamson scored a combined 40 points on 19-of-29 field goals and 2-of-6 free throws. They also grabbed 27 rebounds.
The night clearly belonged to Martin who increased his scoring clip from 2.9 as a rookie in 2004-05 to 10.8 last campaign, marking the third highest rise in the league behind Boris Diaw and Mike James for a minimum of 40 games. Now, he’s averaging 24.7 points and turning heads around.
"Kevin had one of those nights where he needed a half an inch and it was on its way," moaned Hill. "And he was making them. Ray had a tough time guarding him. Damien (Wilkins) had a tough time guarding him. Earl had a tough time guarding him. We even put (Mickael) Gelabale on him. Kevin just had one of those nights."
Martin, a Western Carolina sports management major who was the Kings‚ first round pick in 2004 as a junior undergraduate, was modest in the wake of his eruption.
"I guess you could say I was in a bit of a groove," he said shyly. "It’s still Mike, Ron and Brad’s team. I’m just playing my role."
Martin showed his versatility in offense and the Sonics just couldn’t keep in step. When the Kings stuck close to him outside, K-Mart put the ball on the floor and drove against the Sonics interior defenders. When they sagged off, Martin knocked down jumpers from long distance.
Jon Naito of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer marveled at Martin’s performance.
"He worked his game outside," wrote Naito. "First, showing off his prodigious outside shooting touch. Then when they ran at him, he ran past them, right to the basket. Three-pointers from the wing. Three-pointers from the top of the key while losing his balance. Layups with defenders in his wake.Kevin Martin made them from everywhere. Pick a spot on the floor and chances are the Kings guard made a bucket from that mark."
Hill was hard on himself in absorbing the Sonics’ eighth loss in 14 outings, moving the club to last place in the Northwest. Schrempf, who was in Manila for an Adidas coaching clinic a few years ago, said he felt "terrible" after the loss.
"Our defense was like a sieve," said Hill. "We couldn’t keep anyone in front of us. Sideline pick and rolls were okay but we were a step behind them all night. No excuses, they deserve a lot of credit and we were bad."
The Kings raised their record to 6-5, good for third in the Pacific.
Fans will hear a lot more from No. 23 — K-Mart (and he’s not Kenyon Martin) — before the season’s over.