Believe it or not, Tyreke Evans doesn't clamor for this kind of attention.

In fact, all the attention of the rally for Evans to be Rookie of the Year tonight had Evans feeling a bit embarrassed.

That's right: Embarrassed.

"A little bit," Evans conceded. "They had the NBA All Stars up there (on the jumbotron) talking about my game. I was trying not to let it get to me."

Evans, of course, turned in a 19 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist effort on a night in which so much attention was devoted to him. He kept the game ball, too.

It would seem easy for one to be a bit conceited with 5,000 cutouts of his face throughout the stands.

But that's not Evans' personality. And he was ready for the ribbing he took from his teammates.

"It looked pretty ugly," said forward Carl Landry with a laugh.

*The last Kings rookie with a triple-double was Norm Van Lier, when the franchise was still in Cincinnati.

He had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists Nov. 5, 1969 against the San Diego Clippers.

The last King with a triple-double was Brad Miller at Memphis, April 10, 2007. He had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

*Chris Bosh is going to be one of the prizes of free agency this summer. But tonight was not a night he'll brag about.

He made just 6 of 20 shots to finish with 14 points. Landry and Jason Thompson were the primary defenders on Bosh.

It's probably no coincidence either that Bosh struggled while Thompson and Landry were a combined 11 of 20. When a player has to work on defense, his offense is bound to slip a bit. Landry and Thompson were active the entire game.

*Coach Paul Westphal said there was no special speech at halftime to spur the 73-45 advantage after intermission.

He pointed out the Kings were getting good shots, but were just missing them. The Kings didn't miss much in the third quarter when they were 18 of 24.

The 43 points in the third tied a season high for points in a quarter this season. The Kings' 73 points in the second half is a season high for a half.

*Francisco Garcia was Mr. Perfect when it came to shooting tonight. He made all five of his field goals and both free throws.

--Jason Jones

FINAL (Kings 113, Raptors 90)

Just about everything went right in the second half. The Kings scored 73 points to turn this game into a laugher.

Tyreke Evans didn't disappoint on the night dedicated to celebrating his push for Rookie of the Year. He recorded his first career triple double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Beno Udrih made 10 of 14 shots to lead all scorers with 24 points. The Kings shot 50.5 percent and dominated the glass with a 52-33 rebounding edge. They also had 27 assists with only 11 turnovers.

Sacramento had just three turnovers in the second half.

Andrea Bargnani led the Rapters with 20 points.

--Jason Jones

THIRD QUARTER (Kings 83, Raptors 68)

After a miserable offensive performance in the first half, the Kings made 18 0f 24 shots in the third.

Sacramento opened the period on a 15-3 run that sparked a 43-point quarter.

Beno Udrih ended the third with a jumper at the buzzer and leads all scorers with 22 points and seven assists. Tyreke Evans has 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Carl Landry made all five of his shots in the quarter and now has 12 points.

Chris Bosh is struggling for Toronto in his third game back from injury. He's 5 of 17 with 11 points.

--Jason Jones

SECOND QUARTER (Toronto 45, Kings 40)

The offensive woes that were so bad last night in Portland have continued for the Kings, who have shot 39.1 percent in the first half. Beno Udrih is pretty much the only proficient scorer, as he has 13 points on six of eight shooting.

Carl Landry and Omri Casspi are a combined 1 for 12, and the Kings haven't helped their own cause with eight turnovers. The Raptors have been led by Andrea Bargnani's 11 points.

FIRST QUARTER (Toronto 25, Kings 24)

The Raptors - who are less than 24 hours removed from their heartbreaking loss to the Lakers - don't look quite as sluggish as the Kings had hoped.

But Beno Udrih has helped get the home team off to a good start, scoring 11 points on five of six shooting.

Tonight begins a five-game homestand for the Kings in which they could impact playoff positioning in both conferences.

Except for Sunday's game against Minnesota, each of the Kings' opponents is trying to solidify its playoff spot. That includes the Toronto Raptors, tonight's opponent.

So while the Kings will have their Tyreke Evans for Rookie of the Year campaign tonight, the Raptors are trying to stay in the playoffs.

Toronto is the sixth team in the Eastern Conference, but just a game ahead of Miami and Charlotte, the seventh and eighth teams.

And the Raptors are sure to be in a foul mood considering what happened to them last night:

--Jason Jones

From The Bee

Kings promote Evans for Rookie of Year By Ailene Voisin

Kings sputter down stretch By Sam Amick

Kings notes: Evans sorry for criticizing teammate Nocioni in public By Sam Amick

From The Toronto Star

Turkoglu has time to deliver goods By Dave Feschuk

Gameplan -By Sam Amick

TONIGHT'S GAME
Toronto (32-30) at Kings (21-43)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arco Arena.
TV: CSNCA.
Radio: KHTK (1140 AM).

Kings update: This is the second and final time the Kings face the Raptors, and they'll have to do a better job slowing Chris Bosh if they're going to exact revenge. The Toronto star scored 36 points in the Kings' 115-104 loss at Air Canada Centre on Feb. 7, with 12 of his points coming in the fourth quarter. It was the Raptors' third consecutive win over the Kings and their sixth in a row in Toronto.

Raptors update: Toronto may not be playing well enough to guarantee the big-name free-agent-to-be (Bosh) will stay north of the border, but the Raptors are in playoff position. They're on a slide recently, though, having lost five of six games entering Tuesday. This will be the second game on their four-game, West Coast trip. Bosh missed seven games recently because of a sprained left ankle and a stomach virus, with Toronto going 3-4 without him. He returned Sunday, and the Raptors lost to Philadelphia.

Probable starters

KINGS
No. Player Pos.
19 Beno Udrih PG
13 Tyreke Evans SG
20 Donté Greene SF
24 Carl Landy PF
31 Spencer Hawes C

RAPTORS
No. Player Pos.
1 Jarrett Jack PG
10 DeMar DeRozan SG
24 Sonny Weems SF
4 Chris Bosh PF
7 Andrea Bargnani C

FOURTH QUARTER (Portland 88, Kings 81)

PORTLAND, Ore. - I've got to run to the locker room, but enjoy these nightmarish offensive numbers - click here if you dare.

THIRD QUARTER (Portland 73, Kings 62)

Five turnovers and the continuation of inefficient offense hurt the Kings in the third.

They went on a 14-4 run to cut the Blazers' lead to 58-56, but Andres Nocioni - who started in Donte' Greene's spot to start the second half - blew a layup and Tyreke Evans was stripped on a fastbreak layup attempt as momentum switched. I know that's extra brief and all, but I need to watch this action.

SECOND QUARTER (Portland 52, Kings 42)

Everyone was getting involved for the Kings - even Garrett Temple.

The rookie point guard playing on a 10-day contract drove baseline and hit a layup that put the Kings 33-31, but it has been all downhill from there for the visiting team. Portland tore off a 9-0 run, with a Rudy Fernandez three-pointer starting it and a Juwan Howard dunk finishing it.

The Kings have fallen behind in the all-important boards battle (23-21), with LaMarcus Aldridge grabbing all five of his rebounds in the second quarter. Three-time All-Star Brandon Roy has 10 points to lead the Blazers, who are shooting 46.7 percent and didn't have any turnovers in the second quarter. The Kings - who are stagnant offensively and allergic to the notion of passing more than twice in a set - are shooting just 43.9 percent. Carl Landry has a team-high 10 points, while Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih have nine points apiece.

FIRST QUARTER (Kings 29, Portland 25)

The Kings are winning with their rebounding.

How many times do you here that about this team? Not often, but that is indeed the case as their control of the glass (13-10) helped them come back from a terrible start in which they trailed 12-2.

There were rebounds to be had, of course, as Portland missed eight of nine shots at one point after hitting six of their first seven to start the game. Kings center Spencer Hawes - whose play is so integral to this team's success or failure - has started off well against the likes of Marcus Camby and Juwan Howard. He has five points, four rebounds and two blocks, while the Kings' scoring has come largely from Carl Landry and Beno Udrih (combined 15 points).

The Blazers' Brandon Roy has eight points, while LaMarcus Aldridge has six.

PRE-GAME

We're a little more than a half hour from tipoff here, but I needed to clarify something real quickly before we get going.

Unbeknownst to me when I wrote this morning's Gameday blog, Ime Udoka is inactive because he is hurt. That wasn't mentioned at shootaround when coach Paul Wespthal said he was inactive. But in all fairness, I didn't ask either.

He has a sprained left knee and left ankle suffered Sunday against Oklahoma City, and is day to day. In other news, Kings rookie guard Tyreke Evans went on KHTK this afternoon to apologize for his comments made to The Bee after the loss to the Thunder on Sunday.

He vented about the rapid-firing ways of Andres Nocioni in the fourth quarter, but has since come to the conclusion that he didn't handle it properly. I'll have more on that in tomorrow's paper, but figured it was worth mentioning now. Otherwise, let the game begin...

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Blazers officials clearly got to Kings coach Paul Westphal as it relates to the Omri Casspi situation, and one can only imagine that the conversation went something like this...

Blazers rep: "Um, hello coach, this is (inaudible). Yeah, I'm just calling to make sure you're not thinking about leaving Omri Casspi in a suit for tonight's game like you did the other night against Oklahoma City. After all, he is Israel's first NBA player and that means we'll have a few hundred Jewish fans at the Rose Garden tonight who wouldn't ordinarily be there. Times are tough for us right now just like everybody else, and we really don't want to have to hand out refunds unnecessarily. Is he really that tired?"

Westphal: "Oh, good gracious. He's fine. We're playing him."

Or something like that...

Kidding aside, Westphal said at this morning's shootaround that Casspi will indeed be available to play tonight. The coach is still concerned about Casspi's energy level, but apparently not enough to give him another night of rest.

"I still think he's kind of worn down, but he'll have a uniform and we'll see how it goes," Westphal said at the Rose Garden.

I noticed a few fans wondering if Casspi was perhaps ill. And while I had heard nothing even remotely implying that was the case, I relayed the question Westphal's way just to be sure.

"Not that we know of," he answered. "There's nothing that we know about that is unrevealed. I'm being as open as I can be. His effectiveness has gone down a little bit, and I think it's because he's tired. Simple as that."

Point guard Beno Udrih will play as well, which we note only because he banged the inside of his right ankle in the last game and was a tad questionable for tonight. That means the starting lineup - No. 26, for those who are counting - remains the same. What a concept.

As for who is inactive, that would be Ime Udoka, Joey Dorsey and the injured Jon Brockman. You can bet that Udoka was the most surprised of the bunch, as he had become a Westphal favorite late in games recently and averaged 14.8 minutes in the last eight games. And those numbers even include a 30-second stint during that span.

We have plenty of linkage and good reads below, but I wanted to provide a bit of highlight reel action as well. Portland point guard Andre Miller - whose Sacramento ties I wrote about not too long ago - had a wicked dunk the other day...

Jason Thompson hadn't seen or heard about that dunk, so Udrih was kind enough to duplicate it for him after Tuesday's shootaround. OK, so maybe he didn't exactly duplicate it - he did a weak walkthrough version of it on the Rose Garden floor while in his socks. Although that makes one wonder: if people were surprised by Miller getting up like that (and they were), can you imagine if Udrih uncorked a similar slam?

From The Bee

'Casspi may need more time to rest,' By Sam Amick

From the Oregonian

'Marcus Camby will play against Kings,' By Joe Freeman

'Live Chat: Kings at Blazers,' By Oregonian staff

'Tyreke Evans remains ROY frontrunner, but...' By Geoffrey C. Arnold

GAMEPLAN

When: 7 p.m.

Where: The Rose Garden.

TV: CSNCA.

Radio: KHTK (1140 AM).

Kings update: The countdown is at eight. And, no, we're not talking about the number of wins the Kings hope to secure between now and season's end. That's how many games they have left until their five-game, eight-day trip that will be as tough as any getaway they have this season. Only two of the next eight games are on the road.

Blazers update: Nate McMillan wasn't trying to be funny, but there was something absurdly comical about the way the Blazers' coach summed up his team's latest injury Sunday: "Now, even our injured players are getting injured," he told reporters in Denver. He was referring to center Joel Pryzbilla, who was already out for the season with a ruptured right patella tendon but who re-ruptured it Saturday falling in his shower at home. It has been that sort of season for Portland, but the Blazers still have won seven of their past 11 games.

PROBABLE STARTERS

No. Player Pos.

19 Beno Udrih PG

13 Tyreke Evans SG

20 Donté Greene SF

24 Carl Landry PF

31 Spencer Hawes C

TRAIL BLAZERS

No. Player Pos.

24 Andre Miller PG

7 Brandon Roy SG

88 Nicolas Batum SF

12 LaMarcus Aldridge PF

6 Juwan Howard C

-- Sam Amick