Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin tossed in a twisting, three-bounce, wrong-handed layup over Tim Duncan as time expired, giving the Kings a 94-93 victory in Game 3.  The Spurs lead the series 2-1.

"The ball finally bounced our way," said Martin, who claimed he was simply trying to draw a foul on his remarkable drive to the hoop. "I knew once Mike (Bibby) gave me the ball, there were only 4 seconds left. I had to go to the rim. There was no choice. I had to go for it."

"Now they know how we felt after that game," added Bonzi Wells, referring to the improbable shot made by Brent Barry at the end of regulation in Game 2.

Ron Artest is eager to return to the floor after serving a one-game suspension in Game 2, but when asked if he could stop Manu Ginobili, he replied, "I'm not sure. He played great (in Game 2). He was real aggressive. He really played like a champ."

Artest feels that he needs to do a better job guarding the perimeter.

"The big guys playing (Tim) Duncan were doing their job for most of (Game 2)," Artest said." Now, we've got to get the perimeters doing their job, me and Bonzi (Wells) hustling a little bit more, which we are going to do in Game3. And I've got to rebound better. I only had two rebounds in Game1. Kevin Martin came in and had eight rebounds. That just proves to me I've got to get in there and rebound."

Rick Adelman was asked Wednesday if he might consider benching Ron Artest in favor of starting Kevin Martin, just as Gregg Popovich did last season with Manu Ginobili and Brent Barry after losing game 1 against the Nuggets, and Adelman was emphatic in his response.

"No," Adelman said, "but tell 'Pop' that if he wants to bench Ginobili again, I think that's a real good idea. And tell him he should probably bench Tony Parker, too."

Martin started in place of the suspended Artest in game 2 and the Kings played well.

Sometimes luck is a fortune, as the San Antonio Spurs found out Tuesday.

Dominant early and resilient late, the Kings were forced into overtime by a 3-pointer from Brent Barry that hit the rim twice, went high and fell through with 4 seconds left in regulation.  

The Spurs then dominated overtime, winning 128-119 to take a 2-0 lead with the series now heading to Sacramento for games 3 and 4.

Ron Artest of the Sacramento Kings was suspended one game without pay for hitting Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs in the head with his forearm.

The suspension was announced Monday by the league. Artest will miss Game 2 of the Western Conference series on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Miami forward Udonis Haslem will miss Monday's playoff game against the Chicago Bulls, serving a one-game suspension for throwing his mouthpiece toward referee Joey Crawford in the series opener.

Haslem will sit out Game 2 of the Heat's first-round series with the Bulls on Monday night. The NBA announced the sanction after the Heat's morning shootaround practice.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, the NBA is reviewing whether Ron Artest's foul on Manu Ginobili in Saturday's game warrants being upgraded to a flagrant violation, a league official said Sunday.

Artest hit Ginobili in the side of the face with his forearm early in the third quarter of the Spurs' 122-88 victory. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich immediately complained to the officials that Artest deserved a flagrant foul.

If the foul is upgraded to a flagrant 1 penalty, Artest could receive a small fine, if that. In the less likely event the league decided to change it to a flagrant 2 foul, Artest could be suspended for Tuesday's game.

Tony Parker scored 25 points and Nick Van Exel added 11 in the decisive second quarter as the Spurs got their championship defense off to a blazing start, taking a 34-point lead at halftime on the way to a 122-88 rout of Sacramento on Saturday.

"It's the playoffs, and everybody is focused, everybody is very motivated," Parker said. "Everybody was ready. We're not going to shoot the ball like that every night, but that was a good feeling. Game 2 is going to be different."

San Antonio made eight three-pointers and 68% of its first-half shots ? both franchise records for a playoff half, according to the Associated Press.

Ron Artest is very confident about the Kings chances against the defending champion Spurs, predicting a series victory for the club.

"I don't even think we're the underdogs any more," Artest said. "I think we're the team to beat, just by how we've been playing."

The Hornets trail Sacramento by two games for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference and got a big boost on Wednesday by beating the Sonics by a final score of 104-99. The teams meet Sunday in Sacramento. The Kings' magic number is two.

"Every game from here on out is a must-win," Paul said. "One loss could really be big for us."

If nothing else, Ron Artest is confident.

Asked Tuesday whether Phoenix is vulnerable, Artest sat in a chair with his legs crossed on the Kings practice court and gave this answer without mentioning the Suns.

"I think right now I know there's a couple teams that want to win championships. I know for a fact Detroit is one of them. I know for a fact that we're one of them. I see a couple teams that don't want to be champions. We've got to knock those teams out. There are teams that are in the playoffs and they're happy right now, but we want more."

Artest said the Kings would be like a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the playoffs and would have finished second in the conference if they had been together all season.

"We're a much better team than the last time Phoenix saw us," Artest said.