It was all good news for Sacramento Kings fans yesterday on March 21. After a big win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Kings would host the Minnesota Timberwolves, but not before landing a new investor to add to the fight to keep the team in town.
Software developer Vivek Ranadivé (pronounced rah-nah-DEE-vay) has joined the investment group of billionaire Ron Burkle and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov in an attempt to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle.
Ranadivé, currently co-owner of the Golden State Warriors, announced partnership yesterday on Twitter:
Looking forward to supporting (Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson) as we work towards keeping the Sacramento Kings where they belong. Excited to be a part of the revitalization of a great community and the globalization of an amazing franchise. #HereWeStay
While the term sheet of an arena deal was not finished yesterday, the news of Ranadivé joining the group gave more support in the case for the Kings to stay.
Later that night, the Kings and Timberwolves remained close for much of the game, but Tyreke Evans came alive early in the fourth quarter.
Evans scored nine points with an assist to Cole Aldrich as he led the Kings on an 11-2 run and scored 11 of the Kings' last 15 points. His late-game effort helped Sacramento earn a 101-98 win over the Wolves.
Evans finished with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 24 points and a team-high six assists and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
After a quiet first half, Thomas said he helped give Evans a push:
"I told him to start the second half, 'We need you to get going,' " Thomas said. " 'I'm going to try to run some stuff through you,' and he did a good job of being in attack mode. He has to learn he has to be in attack mode from tipoff, because when he's in attack mode, he really helps us."
After winning for of their last six games, the Kings will take a quick trip to the Pepsi Center to play the Denver Nuggets, winners of 14-straight games, tomorrow at 6 p.m. PST.
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