Kings 123, SuperSonics 104
Bonzi Wells listened intently to the message coach Rick Adelman gave his struggling Sacramento Kings: Feed off the negativity and find a positive approach.
Wells scored a season-high 31 and Peja Stojakovic broke out of a shooting slump with 23 to help the Kings snap a five-game losing streak with a 123-104 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Saturday night.
Sacramento broke its longest losing streak since the 1997-98 season when the Kings dropped 12 straight.
``This is the type of game we can have when we're all clicking at the same time,'' Wells said. ``We've been trying to get off the slide the last however many games. We really needed this one.''
Sacramento overwhelmed Seattle 30-13 in the third quarter, turning a five-point lead at halftime into a laugher.
The Kings offense clicked with the precision most expected at the start of the season. Wells knocked down numerous open jumpers to go along with a handful of layups and dunks, making 13 of 22 shots - seven of 10 in the second half - and had eight rebounds.
Mike Bibby scored 24 points, Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 17 and Brad Miller had 15 for the Kings, whose starters outscored Seattle's 110-64.
``They were resilient and the more the game went on, the more confident we got,'' Adelman said.
A night after holding Utah to 90 points - only the fifth team Seattle held under 100 this season - Sacramento scored in every manner.
Miller directed the Kings' offense with efficiency, finding open shooters and capitalizing on mismatches. Miller had 10 assists after three quarters and Sacramento eclipsed the 100-point mark with 9:40 left in the game. The Kings had 30 assists on 43 made baskets and shot a season-high 58 percent.
``Offensively, we played so well,'' Adelman said. ``I thought the way we started the third quarter was huge.''
Ahead 62-57 at halftime, the Kings started the third with a 13-4 run. Bibby missed the first shot of the half, but Sacramento made five of its next six attempts, including Stojakovic's fourth 3-pointer. Abdur-Rahim's layup with 7:28 left in the quarter gave the Kings a 14-point lead.
Disgusted Seattle coach Bob Weiss called timeout and benched all five of his starters at the 7:26 mark with Seattle down 75-61. The move did not spark a rally.
Instead, Sacramento went ahead 84-64 on Wells' three-point play. The lead grew as large as 24.
``I don't think this is a bad defensive team. We just didn't take away one thing,'' Seattle's Ray Allen said. ``You can't stop everything, but you have to stop something. We didn't do that.''
Allen led Seattle with 24 points, and had a scare with 8:45 left after taking a hard foul from Abdur-Rahim. Allen drove to the basket and scored, but was hit by Abdur-Rahim and landed awkwardly with his left leg tucked underneath him.
Allen made both free throws, then went directly to the locker room with trainer Mike Shimensky. Allen quickly returned, checking in 61 seconds later. Afterward, Allen said his knee wasn't too bad, but was sore.
Rashard Lewis added 17 points for Seattle.
``We were running in mud all night,'' Weiss said. ``We've won four out of the last six, but we feel like we lost them all.''
Stojakovic injured his right pinky finger in the first matchup with Seattle on Nov. 20. He missed three games and had slumped since returning, averaging 10.5 points and shooting 29 percent.
He made his first four shots and five of his first six shots on Saturday, including three 3-pointers, nearly half his total of eight in the last six games. He was 6-of-10 in the first half, and took just four shots in the second half, making two.
``I was aggressive from the first minute,'' Stojakovic said. ``I'm just trying to get better and get back to the shape I was before I got hurt. I don't have a great touch for the ball, but it's getting better each and every game.''
In the first meeting, Stojakovic had 25 points at halftime, making nine of 10 shots in the first half. Early in the third quarter of that game he took a hard slap from Seattle's Danny Fortson, injuring the finger.
Notes: Fortson was suspended by the league for Saturday's game for verbally abusing an official and not leaving the court in a timely manner following an ejection Friday night in Utah. ... Sacramento is the only team in the NBA to have a guard (Wells) lead the team in rebounding and a center (Miller) lead in assists. ... Seattle's Luke Ridnour missed a free throw in the second quarter, his second miss of the season. He's 53-for-55.
Sacramento Kings - Seattle SuperSonics Goals Total 1 2 3 OT Shootout
Sacramento Kings 123
Seattle SuperSonics 104
Tags: basketball, news, seattle, sports, supersonics.
|
