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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – At halftime, the Sacramento Kings
entered their locker room in a self-loathing rage. They kicked
chairs, threw water cups and cursed themselves after a dismal
performance against the New York Knicks.
Coach Rick Adelman calmed his team's nerves – and set the Kings
on course to a gritty, dramatic victory – with one simple thought.
"He said, 'Guys, this isn't us,' " said Predrag Stojakovic, who
scored 12 of his 29 points in overtime as the Kings beat the Knicks
124-117 Tuesday night.
"We realized we were maybe trying too hard and beating
ourselves like we did (Sunday) against the Lakers. We didn't want
to feel like that again."
Chris Webber had 39 points and 15 rebounds for the Kings, who
exploded out of the locker room and erased an 18-point first-half
deficit.
Kurt Thomas hit a desperate 3-pointer to force overtime, but
Sacramento ran away from the Knicks shortly thereafter.
Two days after a demoralizing 84-72 loss to the Lakers,
Sacramento rallied for an emotional win. It's the kind of mental
swing that could make or break a team's season – and the Kings, the
league's best offensive team, prevailed against the NBA's toughest
defense.
"Everybody thinks the sky is falling because we lost to the
Lakers," Webber said. "They say we can't shoot, that we can't do
it anymore. We wanted to prove everybody wrong."
Sacramento increased its lead to a full game over the Lakers in
the Pacific Division, and the Kings moved past Utah into second
place in the Western Conference, two games behind San Antonio.
Sacramento matched the Spurs for the league's best home record at
29-6.
While the Kings found themselves by mostly dominating in the
second half and overtime, New York lost its usual identity. Against
Sacramento's offensive onslaught, the normally defense-minded
Knicks sometimes looked helpless while giving up 18 more points
than they had allowed in any game this season.
The game's flow was eerily similar to New York's overtime win at
Golden State on Monday night at the start of their critical
five-game road trip. Once again, the Knicks built a big first-half
lead – 20 points in Oakland and 18 points in Sacramento – but
allowed the Kings to chip away throughout the game.
"We came out here with the goal to not beat ourselves anymore,
(but) we almost did that last night and I thought we did that
tonight," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "Our defense as a
whole was not good. You're not going to give up 77 points in 29
minutes and hope to win."
But Thomas, who had a season-high 23 points, shot them into
overtime with a dramatic 3-pointer – just the second of his career
– with six seconds left in regulation.
The Knicks' magic didn't last in the extra period at a deafening
Arco Arena. Stojakovic made all four of his shots, including a
3-pointer with 1:39 left, and added three free throws in the final
28 seconds.
Jason Williams, who had 16 points and eight assists, hit a
tie-breaking 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in regulation and took
a charge from Mark Jackson seven seconds later that appeared to sew
up the win for the Kings.
But Doug Christie, who had 17 points, made an ill-advised pass
out of a double-team. After two passes, the ball ended up in the
corner for Thomas, who buried his first 3-pointer in three tries
this season.
"I don't get the opportunity to shoot a lot of them," Thomas
said. "This was one of the best looks I've had of my nine or 10
attempts. I just wanted to make sure I didn't shoot it flat."
Glen Rice had 22 points, while Allan Houston and Latrell
Sprewell added 21 apiece for the Knicks.
One night after Rice hit a 3-pointer from in front of the Golden
State Warriors' bench to force overtime, Thomas did the same from
nearly the same spot on the floor. But while the Knicks held Golden
State to one field goal in that extra period, the Kings ran away.
The Knicks, who have the league's second-worst offense, couldn't
be stopped in the first half. New York shot 56 percent and scored
64 points – just 24 shy of their per-game average this season.
The Kings turned it around in the third quarter, which they
began on a 30-10 run in a 10-minute stretch.
Game notes
During the second quarter, Webber passed the 10,000-point
mark for his career. ... Former "Dallas" star Larry Hagman
watched the game from courtside. ... The Knicks hit their first 17
free throws. Marcus Camby's two misses with 10:57 to play were New
York's first miscues. ... Larry Johnson, in his second game back
from a lower back injury, was ejected less than seven minutes in.
He cursed at referee Jack Nies after a foul call, and Nies
responded with two quick technicals.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New York Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 110
Washington 102
Boston 115
Atlanta 112
Toronto 101
Miami 92
Houston 109
Utah 86
San Antonio 93
Charlotte 79
LA Clippers 101
Detroit 94
Sacramento 124
New York 117
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