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Martin, Kings spoil Durant's debut

Oct 10, 2007 - 4:39 AM By Tom Gallant PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- It may have been Kevin Durant's debut but Kevin Martin stole the show.

Martin scored 27 points and Ron Artest added 12, five assists and four steals to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 104-98 victory over the new-look Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday in a preseason matchup.

New coach Reggie Theus promised the Kings would pick up the tempo under his leadership and the frenetic pace overshadowed the debut of the Sonics rookie swingman.

Durant scored 12 points while providing a glimpse of what the future holds for the revamped Sonics. He hit 5-of-9 shots in 20 minutes and showed flashes of the offensive skills that made the 19-year-old the second overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Durant scored his first points on a 20-foot jump shot at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter. He delivered his first dunk with just under a minute to go in the third and a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc with nine minutes left in the game.

Martin shot 7-of-11 from the field and connected on all 12 of his free throws. He scored 18 points in the first half as Sacramento took a 59-56 advantage into halftime.

Miller added 13 points for the Kings, who shot 41 percent (33-of-81) from the field. Miller, coming off his worst season in Sacramento, dedicated himself to a new workout regimen that helped him lose 25 pounds in the offseason in an effort to return to form.

Damien Wilkins had 18 points to lead the Sonics, who used a 23-7 run bridging the first and second quarters to grab a 46-38 edge.