Kings (16-57) at Golden State (25-49)
Scoring: Kings 12th (100.39), Warriors 2nd (108.6)
Shooting: Kings 22rd (44.5 percent), Warriors 12th (45.9)
Scoring defense: Kings 29th (108.63), Warriors 30th (112.48)
Shooting defense: Kings 29th (48.3 percent), Warriors 23rd (47.1)
Rebound differential: Kings 29th (minus-5.04), Warriors 30th minus-5.13
The link: Warriors coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, San Jose Mercury News. Kings coverage in The Bee (Voisin's 'Packed House Honors Ordinary Guy Divac,' Kings gamer, Kings notes).
The almanac: On this date in 1994, Oliver Miller of the Phoenix Suns thought he was on the receiving end of an April Fool's Day joke when President Clinton called him.
"I asked the White House operator if this was an April Fool's joke," Miller told The Bee in 1994. "She said, "Far from it, it's the president.' I said, "Right. The president of Coca-Cola?' "
Charles Barkley walked by Miller as he tried to decipher the legitimacy of the caller. Eventually Barkley grabbed the phone.
It turned out the caller really was Clinton, who invited Miller to join him in a luxury box at that year's NCAA title game. Miller, a former Arkansas player, took him up on the offer as the pair watched the Razorbacks defeat Duke 76-72. The Most Outstanding Player of that NCAA championship was Corliss Williamson.
***
During last night's jersey retirement, Vlade Divac told the packed Arco Arena that if he were to pick a moment in his career to relive, it wouldn't be the wins the resulted in back-to-back Pacific Coast titles.
Divac said it would be the "heartbreaking loss in Game 4" of the 2002 Western Conference Finals during that infamous Robert Horry three-pointer.
Why?
Because, Divac said, no one believed the Kings could recover by tipoff of Game 5.
Of course the Kings went on to win that game and lose the next two, but that moment in which the team pulled together was the highlight Divac holds close.
"When everyone believed winning the next game was impossible, we proved nothing was impossible," Divac said during his halftime ceremony.
It now seems almost comical that Divac talked about reliving Game 4. While he wasn't asking for a replay, that's what he got as the Kings fell to the New Orleans Hornets at Arco.
The stunned silence following a game-winning three-pointer at the hands of Rasual Butler reminded several Bee readers of that Horry heartbreaker.
Wrote one reader: "Don't you think it's ironic that the day we retire Vlade Divac's jersey is the same day we lose to an opponent by a game-winning three-point shot? Ahem. Sounds kinda like Robert Horry and that dreaded shot."
Be careful what you ask for.
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