Kings fans wary of Seattle swooping in

SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Three hours before the biggest game of the season, one of the Sacramento Kings' biggest fans is shopping in the team's souvenir shop.

Sandy Duverneck, a season-ticket holder since the day the team arrived from Kansas City in 1985, responds in mock horror when a visitor approaches her.

"You're from Seattle?" she asks. "You're trying to rip us off."

The game is Sacramento's first home game since news broke of how serious Seattle's efforts are to build a new arena and secure a new NBA team. And the clear target is Duverneck's Kings.

The big matchup Thursday night? The team Seattle wants versus the team Seattle lost.

For Seattle fans watching on TV, the game was a strange collision of the Kings and the Oklahoma City Thunder _ the city's NBA past and possible future.

For the Kings and their fans, it's another chance to state their case that they want, and deserve, to keep their team.

Sacramento holds two of the top eight longest sellout streaks in NBA history. Lately, though capacity crowds have been rare, with the Kings ranking 24th among 30 NBA teams in attendance. The team hasn't had a winning record since the 2005-06 season and entered the weekend 10-16 this season amid increasing doubts about its future.

Against the Thunder, though, a full house of 17,317 turned out for Sacramento's only nationally televised game of the season.

The game evolved much like those who want to keep the team hope the arena effort develops: The Kings overcome a late eight-point deficit to rally in the final minutes and win 106-101.

As the finishing touches are put on the win, fans chant "our town, our team!" There's also a hearty cheer of "Sacramento!" that sometimes sounds like "Sacramento's!" Either way, fans are laying their claim to the team.

That kind of passion is common, says Kings rookie guard Isaiah Thomas, a native of suburban Tacoma and a former Washington Husky.

He recalls arriving in town the day after he was drafted last June, with fellow rookies Jimmer Fredette and Tyler Honeycutt, to find 2,000 to 3,000 fans waiting at the airport.

"It's not like this everywhere," Thomas said. "These fans are special, and they are behind their team 100 percent. We can't let them down. So hopefully we can do what we can control and keep the team here."