PEJA RULES, KINGS WIN
iKing

Peja is a complete player. He is proving that.

He, and the rest of the Kings, give a very tired Vlade a nice birthday present by pulling off a one-point victory over the Mavericks.

Hedo, Mike, Doug, Keon, Vlade and Jim also all contributed to the win. Hedo and Peja played great defense on Dirk. Jim couldn't guard him though. It was nice to see Hedo play so well overall. And Keon was a big boon to have at the end when Vlade was about to drop in his tracks. Key shots, blocks and rebounds. I loved Keon's game-winning putback and Vlade hugging him afterward. Yes. TEAM!

As a bonus the Kings' win over the Mavericks made my boy, Cody, very happy; and that means lots to me. Yes!

It was kind of scary to see Peja rubbing his hand and grimacing after making Dirk miss the last shot. It was cute to see Rick say something like "tell me you're not hurt...I couldn't take it", and have Rick actually smile when Peja reassured him. And it was a relief to have Peja say in the post-game interview that his wrist hurt initially but the pain was soon gone. That is one valuable wrist!

The FUN part is - the Kings pull out a road win against the team with the best record in the NBA.

Now, if they don't party too much, they might recover enough to maybe pull out a win in New Orleans before the All-Star break. I would like that; and it would keep the Trailblazers at bay. And since Peja is the only one going to the All-Star game (unless Chris is going just to be acknowledged and not play), it will give the tired, beat up Kings some time to rest and heal up. I hope they use it for exactly that, and come out roaring after the break.

Tonight's was a much needed win. Whew!