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Wednesday, Dec. 15 10:00pm ET
Kings lucky to steal win from Grizzlies | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The Sacramento Kings know that they were lucky to win at Vancouver on Wednesday night. "Yeah, we stole it. We stole it," said Chris Webber who scored 21 points including the crucial go-ahead basket with 23.8 seconds left as the Kings snapped a season-high two-game losing streak with a 109-106 victory over the Grizzlies. "There was no way in the world we were supposed to win," said Webber. "But that's the way it is. Life is unfair sometimes. Sometimes you get those wins. ... I can't say that we out-rebounded them or played better. "I don't know what the stats were, but it feels like we got away with a game that they should've won." Trailing 106-103 after Vancouver's Bryant Reeves hit one of two free throws with 57 seconds left, Sacramento rallied back. On the Kings' next possession, Webber was credited with a five-foot basket when Vancouver's Cherokee Parks was called for goaltending. Webber was then active at the other end of the court, pulling down a defensive rebound after Mike Bibby missed a lay-in. The Kings went ahead for good on their next trip up the court when Jason Williams missed an off-balance layup, but Webber was there in the left post to put the ball in to give Sacramento a 107-106 lead. After Vancouver's Michael Dickerson missed an 18-footer, Kings' back-up point guard Darrick Martin sunk two free throws to put the game away with seven seconds remaining. The Grizzlies failed to hit a field goal after Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored on a dunk to tie the game 103-103 with 2:14 left. "We did a lot of interesting things down the stretch," said Kings' coach Rick Adelman shaking his head and smiling. "I'm just glad to get the win." Webber, who was limited to only two minutes in the third quarter after running into foul trouble, finished with 13 rebounds in a game that the Kings relied heavily on their bench depth. Predrag Stojakovic led the bench players with 17 points, while Martin and Lawrence Funderburke chipped in with 15 points apiece as the Kings beat the Grizzlies for the sixth straight time. Bibby had a season-high 26 points for the Grizzlies, who lost their sixth straight home game, and are 1-15 in their last 16 games. Dickerson scored 22 while Abdur-Rahim scored 19 points and added 15 rebounds. The Grizzlies blamed the loss not on how they played down the stretch, but on giving up 60 points in the first half. "We didn't come out in the first half and play like we were capable of," said Reeves, getting his first start after coming off the bench the last two games. "But I think we came back in the second half. We had a chance to win. It was a tough one." Trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, and 60-51 at the break, the Grizzlies used a 16-2 run to open up a 72-67 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Dickerson capped the surge sinking a free throw after Williams was issued a technical for arguing with the officials.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Sacramento Clubhouse Vancouver Clubhouse   | |||||