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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Chris Webber's sprained left hand
caused him more problems with his teammates than it did on the
court.
|  | | Chris Webber helped put the clamps on Walt Williams on this play, and despite a sprained hand, Webber had seasons highs of 37 points and 18 rebounds. |
Chris Webber had season-highs of 37 points and 18 rebounds, and
rookie Hidayet Turkoglu scored 16 points in his first NBA start as
the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight home game, beating
the Houston Rockets 111-98 Friday night.
Webber scored 23 points after halftime, shooting 15-of-26 from
the field despite his minor hand injury. He wore a black half-glove
on the hand, which inspired his teammates to poke fun and call him
Michael Jackson, among other things.
Webber thought it was funny, but the Rockets weren't laughing.
"It hurt, so I wasn't sure what kind of a game I was going to
have," Webber said. "The guys were laughing at me, but it wasn't
that big of a deal. It's just good that I can play through
something like that and help us get another win."
Doug Christie added 18 points and eight assists as Sacramento,
playing without second-leading scorer Peja Stojakovic, stayed atop
the Pacific Division and won for the ninth time in 10 games this
season at Arco Arena.
"They just really didn't have an answer for (Webber)," Kings
coach Rick Adelman said. "We got him the ball in good situations,
and he did what he knows best."
Webber scored 11 points early in the third quarter to key a 23-7
run that put the Kings up by 17. Moochie Norris and Walt Williams
led a 21-8 Houston run in the fourth quarter to pull the Rockets
within six with 5:55 left, but Jason Williams hit two late
3-pointers as Sacramento pulled away.
"The third quarter was horrendous," Rockets coach Rudy
Tomjanovich said. "I think we can compete against these guys, but
we just can't have that big drought when you just fall apart.
They're just too good when they have that cushion."
Steve Francis had 20 points and 10 assists, and Cuttino Mobley
scored 19 to lead the Rockets, who began a four-game road trip with
a solid effort. But Houston didn't have the offensive firepower to
stay with the Kings, who had six players in double figures and
scored more than 100 points for the 10th time this season.
Francis didn't see evidence of the Kings' much-heralded new
commitment to defense.
"They played the same as last year: upbeat," Francis said. "I
thought we were in the game, except for a lapse in the third
quarter. They made the shots, and we didn't."
The Rockets, who had five players in double figures, forced the
Kings into a half-court game and stayed close in the first half.
But Webber and Williams got Sacramento running in the second half,
and the Kings held the Rockets without a field goal in the game's
final 3:29.
"I'm not going to blow their horn for them, but they are a very
good team, and they have the talent to really do something,"
Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said.
Stojakovic, averaging 18.6 points and 5.9 rebounds, missed his
first game of the year with a bruised right shoulder. Sacramento
coach Rick Adelman bypassed Lawrence Funderburke and Nick Anderson
to start Turkoglu, the 21-year-old Turkish star the Kings picked
16th overall in last summer's draft.
Turkoglu excited the sellout crowd with a few early baskets, and
he drew a standing ovation when he drove coast-to-coast and was
fouled on a layup attempt midway through the third quarter. He
played through a sore right shoulder that will be examined on
Saturday.
"I was nervous when I started," Turkoglu said. "Then you
start playing, and you don't feel too much nervous. ... Every time
I get more minutes, I play more my best."
Sacramento beat Houston for the fifth time in their last six
meetings and for the second time in 10 days. The Kings finish a
four-game homestand against Miami on Sunday night.
Hakeem Olajuwon scored 10 points to pass 26,000 for his career.
Game notes
Sacramento scored the game's first 10 points. ... Francis
threw down an acrobatic alley-oop dunk midway through the second
quarter, but got a technical foul for hanging on the rim. ... The
game was briefly delayed when Ronald McDonald was slow getting off
the court after throwing Quarter Pounders to the crowd during a
timeout. "Whose side is he on?" Tomjanovich asked referee Tony
Brothers with a grin. ... Webber led the Kings in scoring for the
fifth straight game.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 104
Boston 91
Charlotte 92
LA Clippers 87
Miami 80
Atlanta 76
New Jersey 86
Phoenix 84
Dallas 105
Chicago 86
Philadelphia 107
Portland 94
Toronto 108
Golden State 92
Seattle 103
LA Lakers 95
Sacramento 111
Houston 98
 FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Rudy Tomjanovich Official Site
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