It looked as if the drive up Interstate 80 gave the Kings time to ponder their disastrous fourth quarter of a night ago.
That was evident because in tonight's fourth quarter. All that went wrong in their collapse against the Warriors Friday night went right.
*Chauncey Billups did what he does -- hit big shots. But his three-pointer that tied the game at 100 didn't crush the Kings.
They gave the ball to their clutch guard, Tyreke Evans, and let him win the game.
*Fans seemed to groan at the sight of Evans at the top of the key with the clock running down. Evans,however, made the game-winning shot.
Even if he'd missed, it was still the right call. Put the ball in the hands of your best player. Either he wins it or you go to overtime.
*It didn't hurt that Evans was being defended by Kenyon Martin. Any guard would love to see a power forward on them in that situation.
*The didn't look horrible on offense in the fourth like they did against Golden State. The ball movement was much better.
Just as important, the players were moving too.
*Sacramento had 10 turnovers that led to 18 points for the Warriors in the fourth. Tonight, they had just four that led to six points for the Nuggets.
*The Kings won even though Jason Thompson struggled and had just five points. He's made just seven of 22 from the floor in his last two games.
*Make that two solid games in a row for Ime Udoka. He followed up a 19-point, 14-rebound effort with 12 points tonight.
*Spencer Hawes has been in out of the starting lineup this season. Not exactly the way a third-year player expects to spend his season.
Tonight Hawes was a super-sub with 17 points and missed only two of his 10 shots. So what should Paul Westphal do?
He can't possibly bench Hawes every other game. If Hawes remains this aggressive, Westphal should have no problem keeping him in the starting lineup.
--Jason Jones
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