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  Wednesday, Mar. 8 10:30pm ET
Divac's season-high 27 bugs Hornets
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Playing a subservient role to Chris Webber most of the season, Vlade Divac decided to take over for one game.

The veteran center scored a season-high 27 points and had 11 rebounds Wednesday night as the Sacramento Kings rallied in the second half for a 105-92 victory.

With Webber putting up MVP-like numbers this year, Divac has been more of a role player. Disgusted at times with his play, he decided this week it was time to get more active in the offense.

That was certainly the case against the Hornets when he played a season-high 43 minutes. Divac made 12-of-21 shots, handed out four assists and made the evening miserable for Hornets center Elden Campbell, a former teammate.

"I've been in a big slump, but my history is I've always been a good second-half player, "Divac said. "I know my game has to be there if we're going to go further in the playoffs this year. I have kept telling myself to get more aggressive."

The Kings, who trailed by 18 points at one stretch in the first half, produced a 12-2 run early in the fourth quarter in winning their third straight game.

After playing solid defense in the third quarter to pull to 76-73, the Kings made 10 of their first 11 shots in the final period to take a 95-88 lead. They made 15-of-20 shots in the final period.

"We knew they would make a run, but I don't know what happened out there," Hornets reserver guard Baron Davis said. "They just came out and they got hot. They got hot and made a lot of open shots."

Plagued with fouls, Webber finished with 22 points. Jon Barry scored six points in the fourth quarter and finished with 11. Nick Anderson also had 11 for the Kings, who staged their biggest comeback of the season.

"It was the tale of two halves," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We were just terrific in the second half. I think in the first half it seemed like they walked it up and they just wanted to keep the tempo real slow. As a result, we just seemed to go along with them and we were very porous on defense."

David Wesley had 17 of his 21 points in the first half for Charlotte, which has lost six of nine games. Derrick Coleman had 17 points and Elden Campbell added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

"I think Rick (Adelman) substituted real well to take advantage of our first unit and it kind of wore us down," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "Well, Vlade was very good and Webber picked it up in the second half. (Tyrone) Corbin hit a couple of big shots when they needed it, and so did Barry."

Barry converted a reverse layup off a fastbreak, giving Sacramento its first lead, 81-80, with 9:36 remaining. He later lobbed a pass to Webber for a dunk as Sacramento went ahead 89-82 at the 7:10 mark.

Anderson scored nine points and Webber had eight as the Kings rallied from a sluggish first half to outscore the Hornets 29-21 in the third quarter. An 8-0 run helped Sacramento pull to 76-73 entering the fourth quarter.

The Hornets pulled away in the second quarter as Wesley scored seven points in a 19-5 run. That give Charlotte a 53-35 lead, its biggest of the half.

"We just stuck together in that second half and things started clicking," Webber said.

Game notes
Kings reserve center Scot Pollard was put on the injured list prior to the game. He sprained an ankle in Tuesday's win over Dallas. Veteran Bill Wennington took his place on the roster. ... Campbell had three blocks in the first quarter. ... In foul trouble, Webber had a poor first half, getting six points and two rebounds. ... Sacramento had three second-half turnovers and finished with 12.

 


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