RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Sacramento Kings set the tone early.
Chris Webber had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Kings jumped out to a big lead and never trailed in an 88-81 win over the
Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
Sacramento broke out to a 20-3 lead in the opening 6 1-2 minutes of the game and never looked back. During that span, Houston missed nine of 10 shots from the field, had five turnovers and two shots blocked.
"We were the aggressors," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "It
was almost scary when we got off to a 20-point lead, but our guys
shot the ball well and did a good job."
The Kings expanded their lead to 26-5 with 3:35 to play in the
first quarter with Peja Stojakovic scoring seven and Doug Christie
and Jason Williams adding six apiece.
"We wanted to go out and make a statement," Williams said.
"It was good to be hot like that early."
Williams finished with 18 points, followed by Stojakovic's 15
and Christie with 13. The Kings have won three straight and eight
of their last nine.
Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points to lead the Rockets, who
committed a season-high 22 turnovers and had their six-game home
winning streak snapped. Steve Francis had 13 and Hakeem Olajuwon
10.
"They have a good offense," Houston's Walt Williams said.
"But some of the blame has to fall on our shoulders. I think after
they jumped ahead of us, we just panicked.
"We got frustrated with each other and didn't ever execute. We
never regrouped or settled down."
The Rockets crept back to within seven at 33-26 in the second
quarter as the Kings missed seven of their first 10 shots. But
helped by four apiece from Stojakovic and seven from Bobby Jackson,
Sacramento stretched the lead back to 50-30 with 1:54 left in the
half.
"One of the hardest things in basketball is to get a big early
lead and hold on to it," Webber said. "A lot of times the home
team gets the other team back into the game."
The Kings led 52-35 at the half as Stojakovic had 13 points and
Webber nine. Houston didn't score a field goal the final 4:32 of
the half, getting its last seven points at the free throw line.
Sacramento went on a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter to
open a 21-point lead at 63-42. With Williams scoring 10 points in
the quarter, the Kings led 74-56 entering the fourth.
Game notes
Rockets first-round pick Jason Collier had arthroscopic
surgery on his right knee Tuesday and will be out 4-to-6 weeks. ...
The Rockets' 13 first-quarter points were their second lowest of
the season for a quarter this season. They managed only 11 in the
second quarter against the Celtics last Wednesday. ... Kings are
10-1 when leading or tied at the half.
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NBA Scoreboard
Sacramento Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 102
Washington 75
Boston 87
Cleveland 72
Milwaukee 102
Miami 101
Utah 98
New Jersey 92
Dallas 107
Toronto 93
Minnesota 96
Chicago 76
Sacramento 88
Houston 81
Seattle 105
Portland 93
LA Lakers 124
Indiana 107
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