They Want to Experience the Joy of Six

SACRAMENTO —  The Kings tried to say the right things Thursday, doing their best to temper their bubbling enthusiasm on the eve of the biggest game for the franchise in more than 50 years, since it was located in Rochester, N.Y.

Needing one victory to end the Lakers’ season, the Kings spoke in confident terms. The Kings made it clear they want to end the series tonight in Game 6 at Staples Center and await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals between the New Jersey Nets and Boston Celtics.

“Our confidence level, our belief in ourselves all along has put us in a situation where we think we can beat them,” center Vlade Divac said. “It’s no different going down there for Game 6.”

Added swingman Hedo Turkoglu: “We’re going to get it done down there in front of their fans, in front of their people. It’s going to be fun.”

Backup center Scot Pollard put it this way: “If we play Kings basketball, that’s going to be good enough to beat the Lakers. If we continue to attack them offensively and defensively, I think we’ll win.”

The last thing the Kings want is to perform a belly flop tonight and be forced to fend off the Lakers in a winner-takes-all Game 7 on Sunday at Arco Arena.

“We’ve got to try to win this one,” Coach Rick Adelman said. “You have to win. You have to beat them [the Lakers]. I think this team [the Kings] has that mentality. You can’t assume that because you’ve got another game at home that it’s a lock.”

Asked what preparations he might make for a Game 7, Adelman began to answer, then cut himself off.

“I don’t even want to think about a seventh game,” he said. “There’s no momentum for a seventh game. There’s no momentum right now. The teams are too close. When you get to a seventh game, you throw it all out there.”

Guard Mike Bibby said he believes the Kings have a slight advantage over the Lakers entering Game 6.

“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves,” he said. “I think we’ve played better on the road than we have at home. We’ve played relaxed on the road. I think we’re going to be relaxed.”

*

Adelman has twice in his NBA coaching career had a chance to knock off the defending champions. Twice he has been denied, both while with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Detroit Pistons defeated Adelman’s Trail Blazers in 1990 and Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls got him in 1992.

“In Game 6, we were up by 15 points going into the fourth quarter,” Adelman recalled of facing the Bulls at Chicago. “Michael was on the bench. All of a sudden, they started hitting threes.” The Bulls rallied and won the game and the series.

There’s only one thing that Adelman can count on tonight.

“We have to expect that Kobe and Shaq are going to be involved a lot, just like they were in Game 5,” he said, referring to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. “It’s important to stay in the game and give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter. The pressure is on them, but we don’t want to fall behind. Who knows what’s going to happen if we’re right there at the end of the game?”