Divac Says Balance of Power Is Key

Six of the seven Sacramento Kings who played during their 103-90 victory Friday over the Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference final scored 11 points or more. Six of the seven played 24 minutes or more.

Center Vlade Divac wasn’t Sacramento’s best player, but he did score 11 points and had nine rebounds in 38 minutes. He also helped the Kings thwart Shaquille O’Neal, who had 20 points and 19 rebounds, and gave them a 2-1 series lead.

Divac then stood atop a figurative soap box in the Kings’ locker room, speaking out on a variety of subjects, including the perception that the Kings are unloved and unappreciated outside of the Sacramento city limits.

“We get no respect,” Divac said. “We’re going to earn the respect tonight. Or tomorrow. We’ll get there. I’ve played this game a long time and you don’t have that many opportunities to get here and when you do, you better do it.”

Comparing the Kings and the Lakers, Divac said, “This team is a team. The other team is Shaq and Kobe [Bryant]. They’re the two best players in the world, but we have better talent as a team. All I’m saying is if they [the Lakers] don’t have one of those two they’re going to be in trouble. This team lost Peja [Stojakovic to a sprained right ankle], but somebody always steps up.”

Speaking about a third-period scuffle with Bryant that resulted in technical fouls for each player, Divac said, “He hit me in the face.”

Asked if it was intentional, he added, “Come on, he hit me right in the face. The ref was standing right there. When you’re losing you’ll try to do anything to get back in the game, but I don’t know if I would do that.”

Of withstanding the Lakers’ furious comeback in the fourth quarter, Divac said, “Basketball happens so fast. But we just didn’t panic. We called a timeout. We wanted to get some shots. We didn’t feel comfortable [so the Kings asked for a timeout]. We wanted to see where we were making mistakes.”

Asked about defending O’Neal, Divac said, “It’s hard to say what we did, but, obviously, it worked. We’re going to watch the film and see what we did. I didn’t do it. I was behind him. He just missed shots.”

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As in their conference semifinal victory over the San Antonio Spurs, when Tony Parker ran amok, the Lakers are having difficulty defending the Kings’ smaller and faster guards.

In particular, Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby picked apart the Lakers in Game 3, scoring 24 points on eight-for-14 shooting. He also had five assists and four rebounds. He averaged 13.7 points during the regular season, but is up to 21 points during three playoff games against the Lakers.

“I keep saying this and keep repeating myself after every game the guy plays,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said. “What he’s done in the playoffs is really assert himself. He makes a huge basket when the team is down. That’s Mike.”

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Adelman gave the Kings a day off from practice Saturday.