Bibby comes through for Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mike Bibby hasn’t lost his incredible playoff skills after all. The Sacramento Kings’ big-game guard simply left them at home.
Bibby had 31 points and seven rebounds in a dramatic improvement on his last two performances, and the Kings got back in their first-round playoff series with a 116-104 victory over the SuperSonics in Game 3 Friday night, cutting Seattle’s lead to 2-1.
Kenny Thomas scored 22 points and Cuttino Mobley had 21 — both career playoff highs — for the Kings, who rode the energy from their deafening sellout crowd to a 21-point lead in the first half. With Bibby leading the way, Sacramento coolly stayed ahead throughout a foul-filled second half, making 50 percent of its shots.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night, with Game 5 back in Seattle on Tuesday.
Ray Allen scored 33 points and Jerome James had 22 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes of yet another surprising performance. But just as the Kings did in the series’ first two games in Seattle, the Sonics fell far behind early and expended all their energy just trying to catch up.
The Kings’ playoff fortunes in this rebuilding season probably hang on Bibby. But the taciturn point guard didn’t live up to his vaunted playoff reputation in Seattle, going 8 for 30 in the first two games — including a 1-for-16 performance that probably decided Game 1 in the Sonics’ favor.
But Bibby made five of his first six shots in Game 3, and he rarely stopped attacking the basket. He scored eight points and ran Sacramento’s offense with poise in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Seattle missed its final 10 3-pointers while the Kings fed on the usual crowd frenzy at Arco Arena, charging through most of the game with the aggression they lacked in Seattle.
No NBA team has rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win a playoff series, and the Kings have never even climbed out of an 0-2 hole to win a series in the history of a franchise that began as the Rochester Royals in 1948-49.
Star forwards Peja Stojakovic and Rashard Lewis shut down each other for most of the game, and a few Sacramento fans even heckled Stojakovic for his lack of production. Stojakovic finished with 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting, adding another subpar playoff game to his long list.
Lewis was 0 for 6 in the first half, finishing with nine points.
Seattle won this series’ first two games by exploiting Sacramento’s defensive weaknesses with good passing and James’ remarkable production: 36 points, 24 rebounds and six blocked shots.
But from the opening tip in Game 3, Sacramento was more aggressive and more accurate — and Bibby was his usual playoff self, scoring 10 points in the first quarter while the Kings built a 15-point lead.