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Saturday, Jan. 27 10:30pm ET
Adelman will coach West All-Stars

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- There are certain rewards and perks that come from winning. Sacramento coach Rich Adelman earned one Saturday night, just under the NBA's All-Star deadline.

Chris Webber scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, clinching an All-Star spot for Adelman, as the Kings dealt the Los Angeles Clippers their seventh straight loss, 101-89 Saturday night.

"There are a lot of reasons for us to be happy tonight," said Webber, who will start next month's All-Star game in Washington. "The first reason is definitely for Coach, and secondly for what he's done for us. He helped us get to the point where we have the best record in the conference."

The win was Sacramento's 100th under Adelman, who earned the right to coach the Western Conference team for the second time by virtue of his team's fourth straight win over the Clippers and Portland's loss at Minnesota.

Adelman's other All-Star coaching assignment was in 1991, when he was with Portland and his West squad lost 116-114 at Charlotte.

"I can't say enough what it means for our organization and the city of Sacramento," Adelman said. "In 2½ years, to say that we'd have the best record at the All-Star break -- ahead of the Lakers and Portland -- no one would have said that. So it's a tribute to our team and how far they're come."

Webber was especially thrilled for 69-year-old assistant coach Pete Carril, who is back with the team after undergoing bypass surgery a month ago.

"He's probably done everything in basketball that you can do," Webber said. "And to go to an All-Star Game might be the thing that caps his career -- beside winning an NBA championship. I'm just happy that he gets to go with us."

Jeff McInnis and rookie Darius Miles each scored 16 points for the Clippers, but Lamar Odom was held to 10 points and did not make a field goal over the final 17 minutes. Rookie guard Quentin Richardson sat out because of a bruised left big toe sustained in Wednesday's overtime loss to Seattle.

Peja Stojakovic missed his first seven shots before extending Sacramento's 10-point halftime margin to 72-53 with a layup and a 3-pointer 29 seconds apart midway through the third quarter.

Webber scored 12 points in the period, including a one-handed slam off an alley-oop feed from Vlade Divac to give the Kings a 77-57 cushion with 4:03 left in the third.

The Clippers, who haven't been blown out of nearly as many games as they have been in the past, got no closer than the final margin after being down by as many as 22 in the third quarter.

"Sometimes you come into a situation where you don't know you're supposed to lose, and that's the best thing about that team," Webber said. "They don't know that they're supposed to lose. They don't know they're the Clippers. They're an NBA team -- and actually one of my favorite teams to watch on the (satellite) dish."

Webber, who didn't take part in Friday's practice after getting poked in his left eye by David Robinson in Thursday night's loss to San Antonio, powered Sacramento to a 57-47 halftime lead with 17 points.

Jason Williams scored nine of his 11 points on 3-point shots. One of them was a 60-foot buzzer-beater that restored Sacramento's double-digit lead, after the Clippers fell behind by as many as 13 on Williams' 3-pointer with 7:28 left in the second quarter.

"Nothing Jason does surprises me," Webber said. "He's talented, he works hard and it's a pleasure to play with him. You'd be surprised at how much he practices those kind of shots. I'd say he hits about 20 percent of them in practice -- and that's not bad from that distance."

Game notes
Following the game, the Clippers embarked on an eight-game road trip, matching a franchise record. They went 5-3 in 1989-90, the only time they finished a road trip of six or more games with a winning record in 18 trips. ... Sacramento shot 7-for-24 from 3-point range, while Los Angeles was 4-for-12. The Clippers are 0-21 this season when they have fewer 3-pointers than their opponents. ... The Kings improved to 19-0 when they shoot at least 45 percent from the field. They were .456 percent against the Clippers, who entered the game allowing their opponents an average of .439 percent.


ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Sacramento Clubhouse

LA Clippers Clubhouse

RECAPS
San Antonio 99
Utah 86

Toronto 90
Chicago 80

Minnesota 93
Portland 80

Miami 81
Orlando 59

Houston 110
Charlotte 97

Atlanta 101
Cleveland 90

Washington 89
Phoenix 82

Detroit 108
Milwaukee 103

Denver 102
Dallas 100

Seattle 106
New Jersey 97

Sacramento 101
LA Clippers 89


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