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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Too much Chris Webber and too long
a night on the road were more than the New Jersey Nets could
overcome against the Sacramento Kings.
Webber had 33 points and 12 rebounds and Sacramento shot 68
percent in the first half in beating the road-weary Nets 95-79
Sunday night.
Doug Christie added 18 points and Vlade Divac 12 as the Kings
(16-6) won for the ninth time in 12 games in continuing their best
start.
"We definitely wanted to beat them," said Webber, who hit 13
of 23 shots from the field and seven of nine free throws. "Good
teams have to win games they should win. The difference for us this
year is we believe every game is a winnable game."
The Nets weren't able to shake off the effects of a long trip
home after their win at Atlanta on Saturday night.
New Jersey's charter flight home was forced to land in
Philadelphia around 1:30 a.m. Sunday because of fog in the New York
City metropolitan area. The Nets then had to wait three hours for a
bus to arrive from New Jersey, and didn't get home until 6 a.m.
"To be honest we were just out there sleepwalking," said
Stephon Marbury, who led the Nets with 17 points. "I'm not making
any excuses. This is the NBA. This is part of it. But we woke up in
the second half. It was pretty much too late. Those guys are too
good to go out and play the way we did in the first half."
New Jersey made its only run in the third quarter, when it cut a
17-point halftime deficit to 74-67 with 26.1 seconds left in the
third quarter.
Webber then banked in a shot from the top of the key with 3.5
seconds to go in the period. The Kings scored the first seven
points of the fourth quarter to put the game away, as Webber made a
free throw and Christie, Jon Barry and Bobby Jackson hit field
goals.
"He's probably the best power forward in the game," Marbury
said of Webber. "It's not even close. We knew that he was going to
get his. That's nothing new."
Sacramento shot 49 percent from the floor for the game, while
the Nets hit only 35 percent, making one of 15 shots during a
12-point fourth quarter. No team has shot 50 percent against the
Kings this season.
Webber set the tone for the night on both ends of the court,
blocking a shot underneath by Kenyon Martin on the first possession
and going 4-of-5 from the field as the Kings grabbed a 31-15
first-quarter lead.
Webber had 12 first-quarter points, including eight in a 20-8
run that gave the Kings a 26-13 edge. The Kings led by as many as
23 points in the second quarter, which featured a 360-degree dunk
by Webber.
"We knew they played late last night so we wanted to go right
at them early," Christie said.
Game notes
The game was Nets coach Byron Scott's first against Kings
coach Rick Adelman, who hired him as an assistant two years ago.
... The Kings won the final two games of their four-game road trip
and are 6-5 away from home. ... The loss snapped a two-game Nets'
winning streak. ... The Nets are 0-7 in the second games of
back-to-back contests. ... New Jersey has been limited to 14 points
or less in the fourth quarter six times this year. ... The Kings
blocked 11 shots.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Sacramento Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
RECAPS
LA Lakers 104
Toronto 101
Orlando 101
Vancouver 91
New York 100
Milwaukee 97
Dallas 99
Detroit 90
Sacramento 95
New Jersey 79
Washington 103
LA Clippers 94
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