SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – The debate has raged all season: Which team is the best in the West?

It just might be the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been beating the Western Conference's elite teams at their own games all season long.

Sam Cassell scored six of his 33 points in the final 90 seconds as the Bucks blew a 24-point lead but rallied to beat the Sacramento Kings 107-101 Tuesday night.

In a thrilling matchup of division leaders and the NBA's two highest-scoring teams, Milwaukee thrived in its own Eastern Conference variation on the up-tempo style that usually characterizes West Coast teams, none more so than Sacramento. The Bucks shot well, as they usually do, but they also held Sacramento scoreless in the final three minutes.

The Kings roared back from a huge first-half deficit with a 32-10 run, but Milwaukee scored the last eight points to win.

"My team right now is in a good mode," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "They have a lot of confidence, and when we pass the ball and defend a little bit, we're pretty good."

With a roster of players who can outshoot any of the West's sharpshooting squads, the Bucks are a combined 7-0 this season against the Western Conference's top four teams (San Antonio, Sacramento, Utah and the Lakers).

Ray Allen scored 20 points and Glenn Robinson had 18 points and 11 rebounds as Milwaukee ended the game on a 13-2 run. The Bucks' locker room, never quiet even under the worst circumstances, was positively jovial after the Bucks moved within four games of Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference's best record.

"We can play the style of basketball they play in the West, or we can play with the East," Cassell said. "We're not intimidated by the West, and we're not intimidated by Miami or anybody in the East."

Predrag Stojakovic, who missed 10 of his first 13 shots, scored 13 of his 23 points in less than five minutes as Sacramento took the lead early in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento led by five points with less than five minutes left, but the Bucks rallied behind Allen and Cassell, who hit a 3-pointer in front of the Kings' bench with 1:30 left that gave Milwaukee a 104-101 lead.

"It was a shot I had to make, and I made it," Cassell said.

The Kings missed their next two shots, and Cassell stole Chris Webber's outlet pass with 30 seconds left, then hit two free throws to seal it.

Webber had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who lost consecutive home games for the first time this season. Sacramento's Pacific Division lead over the Lakers shrank to one game.

"We have to think about why we put ourselves down by (24)," Vlade Divac said. "We did the same thing (Sunday) against Dallas. It happened against New York (last week), and we got lucky and won. We didn't deserve to win this one."

With Cassell leading the way, the Bucks could do little wrong in the first half. Milwaukee shot 53 percent, with Cassell scoring 21 points against Jason Williams. Tim Thomas hit three 3-pointers as the Bucks led by 24 before taking a 64-44 halftime lead.

"We dug ourselves too big of a hole in the first half," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "We had to use a lot of energy in the second half just to get back in it. We had chances, but it's tough against a team like that. They make big shots, (and) they've got great shooters."

The streaky Kings, who played indifferent defense for the second straight game, shot their way back into it with dramatic flair. Doug Christie scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half, but Webber's jumper with 3:12 left turned out to be Sacramento's final basket of the game.

"This crowd is louder in person than it is on TV," said Allen, who hit three 3-pointers, including a tying basket with 3:54 to play. "This crowd can take a lot of teams and knock them right down, and the noise threw us off-kilter for a bit."

With a gutsy victory in one of the NBA's toughest arenas for visiting teams, the Bucks improved to 2-1 on a critical six-game West Coast road trip.

The Kings rallied from a 28-point deficit against Phoenix and another 24-point deficit against Miami this season. The NBA's three biggest comebacks of the season all have been made by Sacramento, which won in both of its previous comebacks.

Game notes
After the game, Kings forward Scot Pollard put his fist through the wall above the door to the Kings' locker room. ... Cassell and Divac were called for double technical fouls after a tame altercation midway through the third quarter. ... Kings rookie Hedo Turkoglu played the first half and scored four points, but didn't play in the second half. He missed Sunday's game against Dallas after spraining his left ankle Friday against Minnesota.

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