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Wednesday, Feb. 23 10:30pm ET
Rider shakes off rumors, nets 33 | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Isaiah Rider made sure that if the Hawks trade him, he'll be leaving on a good note. Rider, the subject of trade rumors, scored 33 points as the Hawks never trailed in beating the slumping Sacramento Kings 100-94 Wednesday night. The NBA trading deadline is Thursday afternoon. Rider, who has been a disruptive force on the time much of the season, doesn't understand why the Hawks wants to trade him. "I'm leading the team in scoring, I'm two assists away from being the leader there and I get five boards a game, why would you trade a guy like that," Rider said. "My main concern is winning. It makes you wonder why they would think about trading me or Dikembe (Mutombo), we are the two best players." Rider was clearly the best player on the court against the Kings. Despite a cold fourth quarter, he made 14 of 28 shots, connected on his only 3-point attempt, made all four free throws and grabbed six rebounds. He scored 14 first-quarter points as the Hawks led 39-31. Atlanta has won four straight games at Arco Arena and 11 of 12 overall against the Kings. "There's no reason why we started so slow," Kings center Vlade Divac said. "They hit some tough shots early and Rider was on. When he's going off like that, making tough shots, he's difficult to stop." Rider was instrumental in an earlier game against the Kings, scoring 32 points in a 110-100 win. "I like that West Coast style of play, it's wide open," he said. "It suits me fine. The Kings play defense, but they don't play Miami Heat defense. They like to shoot the ball more than they like to defend." Jim Jackson had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Bimbo Coles scored 14 points and Alan Henderson had 12. "We talked before the game that we didn't want to see Jackson and Rider getting going early because they are so explosive offensively and they both got it going early," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. Clinging to a four-point lead in the final minute, Mutombo blocked two shots. He finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocks. "I tell you, when you have a great shot-blocker like myself there in the middle, it's hard to penetrate all the time," Mutombo said. "You have to shoot it outside, otherwise you're going to get your shot blocked." Chris Webber had 28 points and 20 rebounds for the Kings, who have lost three straight and five of six. Divac added 18 points and Predrag Stojakovic had 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter when the Kings rallied from a 14-point deficit. Stojakovic made a jumper and later added a 3-pointer, igniting a 9-0 run as the Kings pulled within 92-85 with 7:15 left to play. In the third quarter, the Hawks went on a 17-5 run, upping their lead to 84-67. Rider continued to bother the Kings, scoring 11 points in the third period as the Hawks took an 86-74 lead into the fourth quarter. The Kings had no answer for Rider in the first half. He connected on 8 of 11 shots and had 20 points, helping the Hawks take a 65-54 lead into the break. Game notesRider made his first six shots in the opening quarter and the seventh was an airball. ... The Kings were 1-of-10 from 3-point territory in the first half and 3-of-17 overall. ... Mutombo knocked down Scot Pollard on a fastbreak basket, committing his fifth foul with 1:56 left in the third quarter. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Atlanta Clubhouse Sacramento Clubhouse NBA Trade Rumor Central
RECAPS Philadelphia 94 LA Clippers 78
Atlanta 100
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