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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- There are certain rewards and perks that come from winning. Sacramento coach Rich Adelman earned one Saturday night, just under the NBA's All-Star deadline.
Chris Webber scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, clinching an All-Star spot for Adelman, as the Kings dealt the Los
Angeles Clippers their seventh straight loss, 101-89 Saturday
night.
"There are a lot of reasons for us to be happy tonight," said Webber, who will start next month's All-Star game in Washington. "The first reason is definitely for Coach, and secondly for what he's done for us. He helped us get to the point where we have the best record in the conference."
The win was Sacramento's 100th under Adelman, who earned the
right to coach the Western Conference team for the second time by
virtue of his team's fourth straight win over the Clippers and
Portland's loss at Minnesota.
Adelman's other All-Star coaching assignment was in 1991, when
he was with Portland and his West squad lost 116-114 at Charlotte.
"I can't say enough what it means for our organization and the
city of Sacramento," Adelman said. "In 2½ years, to say that we'd
have the best record at the All-Star break -- ahead of the Lakers
and Portland -- no one would have said that. So it's a tribute to
our team and how far they're come."
Webber was especially thrilled for 69-year-old assistant coach Pete Carril, who is back with the team after undergoing bypass surgery a month ago.
"He's probably done everything in basketball that you can do,"
Webber said. "And to go to an All-Star Game might be the thing
that caps his career -- beside winning an NBA championship. I'm just
happy that he gets to go with us."
Jeff McInnis and rookie Darius Miles each scored 16 points for
the Clippers, but Lamar Odom was held to 10 points and did not make
a field goal over the final 17 minutes. Rookie guard Quentin
Richardson sat out because of a bruised left big toe sustained in
Wednesday's overtime loss to Seattle.
Peja Stojakovic missed his first seven shots before extending Sacramento's 10-point halftime margin to 72-53 with a layup and a 3-pointer 29 seconds apart midway through the third quarter.
Webber scored 12 points in the period, including a one-handed
slam off an alley-oop feed from Vlade Divac to give the Kings a
77-57 cushion with 4:03 left in the third.
The Clippers, who haven't been blown out of nearly as many games
as they have been in the past, got no closer than the final margin
after being down by as many as 22 in the third quarter.
"Sometimes you come into a situation where you don't know
you're supposed to lose, and that's the best thing about that
team," Webber said. "They don't know that they're supposed to
lose. They don't know they're the Clippers. They're an NBA team -- and actually one of my favorite teams to watch on the (satellite) dish."
Webber, who didn't take part in Friday's practice after getting
poked in his left eye by David Robinson in Thursday night's loss to San Antonio, powered Sacramento to a 57-47 halftime lead with 17 points.
Jason Williams scored nine of his 11 points on 3-point shots. One of them was a 60-foot buzzer-beater that restored Sacramento's double-digit lead, after the Clippers fell behind by as many as 13
on Williams' 3-pointer with 7:28 left in the second quarter.
"Nothing Jason does surprises me," Webber said. "He's
talented, he works hard and it's a pleasure to play with him. You'd
be surprised at how much he practices those kind of shots. I'd say
he hits about 20 percent of them in practice -- and that's not bad
from that distance."
Game notes
Following the game, the Clippers embarked on an eight-game
road trip, matching a franchise record. They went 5-3 in 1989-90,
the only time they finished a road trip of six or more games with a
winning record in 18 trips. ... Sacramento shot 7-for-24 from
3-point range, while Los Angeles was 4-for-12. The Clippers are
0-21 this season when they have fewer 3-pointers than their
opponents. ... The Kings improved to 19-0 when they shoot at least
45 percent from the field. They were .456 percent against the
Clippers, who entered the game allowing their opponents an average
of .439 percent.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Sacramento Clubhouse
LA Clippers Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Utah 86
Toronto 90
Chicago 80
Minnesota 93
Portland 80
Miami 81
Orlando 59
Houston 110
Charlotte 97
Atlanta 101
Cleveland 90
Washington 89
Phoenix 82
Detroit 108
Milwaukee 103
Denver 102
Dallas 100
Seattle 106
New Jersey 97
Sacramento 101
LA Clippers 89
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