Kevin Martin never planned on being out this long.
When the Kings' shooting guard went down with a left ankle injury on Nov. 10, his eyes were moist with tears moments after. He would later admit that it was an emotional reaction driven by fear, with the fifth-year player convinced that he had broken his ankle at that time. But while he hadn't broken the ankle, he had injured it severely enough that he would eventually miss 22 games. The ankle was dubbed "sprained" during his 12-game absence, but the pain remained long after the sprain was gone. After Martin's two-game return in early December led to a combined eight of 27 shooting performance against Utah and Denver and a second absence, it was described as a "sore" left ankle while he missed 10 more games.
While Martin endured some public criticism among fans for taking the cautious route to his return, he said he simply wasn't going to play until he felt as if he could help the team and avoid re-injuring the ankle. He had a team-high 20 points on 5-of-14 shooting in his return against the Clippers on Tuesday night at Arco Arena.
"It felt good to be back out there with the guys and be able to get a victory," Martin said.
KINGS 92, CLIPPERS 90: In a matchup of two of the league's worst teams, the Kings were marginally better than the unimpressive Clippers.
With Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin returning to the lineup after missing 22 games this season with an ankle injury, the Kings shot just 38.1 percent from the field and were led by Martin's team-high 20 points. Yet it was their fourth quarter defensive effort that sealed the win, as they held the Clippers to 17 fourth-quarter points on three of 19 shooting. A Paul Davis jumper from the left elbow with one second left was off to the left, and the Kings had broken their six-game losing streak.
