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Tuesday, Jan. 11 10:30pm ET
Webber's 26 points, 12 boards lead Kings | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- After years of getting dominated, the Sacramento Kings have reversed roles this season with the Houston Rockets. Chris Webber had 26 points and 12 rebounds Tuesday night, helping the Kings pull away in the second half for a convincing 110-93 victory.
The Rockets entered this season having beaten the Kings 11 straight times and owned a 34-7 record against them since the 1989-90 season. Houston has lost three straight this year by a combined 40 points. "A few years ago this wouldn't have happened, it would be the other way around," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "I remember when I was a rookie teams would play us and already be counting the victory. Things have turned around now." Depleted by injuries and missing Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley from their season-opening roster, the Rockets hardly resembled the dominating team they were in the past. "We still had a chance at halftime even though we played horrible," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "They just wore us down (in the second half). We killed ourselves, we just shot ourselves in the foot time and time again." Webber continued a recent trend of outstanding play. He made 13-of-24 shots, had three assists, three steals and a blocked shot. "Chris is on such a roll right now, we'll just continue to ride him as long as he's playing like this," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Whenever we need a basket, he gets it." Leading by 12 points, Webber opened the fourth quarter with a basket, igniting an 11-0 run. Darrick Martin, Jon Barry and Predrag Stojakovic followed with 3-pointers, putting the Kings ahead 92-69 with 9:10 remaining. That was the end of the night for Webber, who only played three minutes in the fourth quarter. "I love these kinds of games, I never want to play in the fourth quarter," said Webber, who played 33 minutes. The win was the second straight for the Kings, who have won seven of 10 games. Houston committed 28 turnovers and lost for the sixth time in seven games. Sacramento had season-high 20 steals. "We didn't take care of the ball," said Cuttino Mobley, who had 14 points. "They got 39 points off our turnovers and it wasn't anything like they were forcing it." Martin made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 17 points. Both Nick Anderson and Vlade Divac had 11 points. "I was able to get more playing time this game and it helped me get into rhythm," Martin said. Steve Francis paced Houston with 16 points, Carlos Rogers scored 13 and Anthony Miller had nine points and a 12 rebounds. After a poor shooting first half, Webber got going in the third quarter, making 7-of-9 shots and scoring 14 points as the Kings assumed an 81-69 lead. "It seemed like we'd get ahead and they kept climbing back and closing the gap," Adelman said. "Finally in the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth we were able to pull away." The Rockets missed 17 of their first 21 shots in the third period and also committed nine turnovers. A 10-0 run put Sacramento ahead 69-56 at the 3:38 mark. Despite a 15-0 run in the first quarter and 13 straight points in the second, the Kings still only led 48-41 by halftime. Webber had 10 points and eight rebounds in the opening half. Anderson and reserve Scot Pollard both had seven points. Game notesHouston opened both the first and second quarters with 11-2 runs. ... Shooting mostly from the perimeter, where he's been hot of late, Webber was 5-of-14 in the first half. ... The Rockets are 1-20 this year when held under 100 points. ... After missing 8-of-11 3-pointers through three quarters, the Kings connected on three in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Sacramento Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 117 Toronto 89
Sacramento 110
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