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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Chris Webber could rest easy on the
Sacramento Kings' bench. His teammates used a small lineup and a
huge run to put away this victory very early.
Predrag Stojakovic scored 29 points as the Kings held Denver
scoreless for nearly 9½ minutes in the first half and beat the
Nuggets 117-84 on Friday night.
Webber, out until at least next week with a sprained ankle,
laughed and joked as his teammates demolished the Nuggets with a
37-10 run that started in the first quarter and ended in the third.
"We're so much more confident and aggressive at home," said
Bobby Jackson, who had a season-high 18 points in just his sixth
start of the year. "We pushed the ball, we helped out on defense
and we were all hitting shots. It was a beautiful night."
Denver tied a franchise low by scoring just seven points on
2-of-20 shooting in the second quarter, and the Kings romped
through the second half. Sacramento shot 56 percent from the field
and forced 20 Denver turnovers.
"We knew that they would come out fast, but not that fast,"
Nick Van Exel said. "They pretty much ran us out of the gym, and
we never responded."
Leading the way was Stojakovic, who rebounded from a string of
mostly subpar games. He hit five of his first six shots on the way
to 14 first-quarter points, and he likely would have passed his
career-high of 33 points if he hadn't sat out most of the fourth
quarter.
Vlade Divac scored 20 points and Doug Christie had 14 as the
Kings, who went 1-4 on their recent five-game road trip, won for
the seventh time in eight home games and matched the league-best
21-4 home record of Portland and San Antonio.
Sacramento coach Rick Adelman credited an unorthodox starting
lineup and a boost from the hometown crowd for his team's dominant
performance. On the flight home from the Kings' 105-81 loss at
Portland on Thursday night, Adelman decided to shuffle his lineup
to attack the Nuggets.
Adelman used two point guards (Jason Williams and Jackson) and
two small forwards (Christie and Stojakovic), with Divac at center.
"We just didn't seem to have any fire (against the Trail
Blazers), and I felt that by going small, we were going to attack
them," Adelman said. "Our goal with Chris out is to win as many
games as we can and stay where we are in the standings."
Denver, which struggled to match up with the Kings' small lineup
and surprisingly didn't capitalize on its size advantages, lost for
the ninth time in 10 road games. The Nuggets have won just once in
their last 11 trips to Arco Arena.
After Voshon Lenard hit a 3-pointer with 2:21 left in the first
quarter to tie it at 31, the Nuggets didn't score again until
another 3-pointer by Lenard with 4:55 left in the half. Sacramento
scored 20 straight points during the span.
Lenard led the Nuggets with 23 points and four 3-pointers, and
Raef LaFrentz had 11 points. Antonio McDyess had nine points and 13
rebounds on 4-of-15 shooting, while Van Exel was 2-of-9.
"I didn't pay much attention to (the Kings' lineup), but I
think that was a mistake," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "As I
thought about it when the game was out of hand, I thought we should
have pounded the ball inside to Raef and Antonio a little more."
Christie, who had eight assists, and Jackson caused their usual
defensive havoc against the Nuggets, who had two off-days while the
Kings were playing for the third time in four nights.
Jackson even got a standing ovation in the fourth quarter when
he stole a pass, drove the court and tripped underneath the basket.
He was called for traveling, but the wild shot he threw up over his
shoulder banked in the basket.
Game notes
Webber, Nick Anderson (bruised lower back) and Jon Barry
(broken hand) missed the game for the Kings, who have missed fewer
games because of injuries than any other team. All 10 healthy
players on the Kings' roster scored. ... Late in the first half, an
exasperated Issel told referee Kevin Fehr: "At least give me one
call so I know it's not personal!" ... Denver lost for the first
time in nine games this season in which the Nuggets had at least
two days of rest beforehand.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 108
LA Clippers 93
LA Lakers 99
Charlotte 94
New York 114
New Jersey 104
Orlando 108
Houston 93
San Antonio 91
Minnesota 85
Vancouver 92
Golden State 79
Sacramento 117
Denver 84
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