Kings 107, Clippers 94
Saturday November 30, 2002By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The Sacramento Kings were down to eight healthy players and that was before Chris Webber became violently ill.
Fortunately for the Kings, Bobby Jackson has never felt better.
Jackson scored a career-high 31 points, and Doug Christie had a season-high 25 on Friday night as the injury-plagued Kings dressed the smallest roster allowed by NBA rules yet still remained perfect at home with a 107-94 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
With Peja Stojakovic and Hedo Turkoglu joining three injured teammates in street clothes, Sacramento had almost no margin for error and then Webber, the Kings' leading scorer and rebounder, was forced to run to the locker room twice with stomach flu.
``When I saw Chris head off, I thought, 'OK, that's it. Nothing else can happen to us,''' Kings coach Rick Adelman said. ``I told the guys, 'I keep reading about how deep we are, so let's go out and find out.' I don't care if we have seven, eight, nine guys: We're at Arco, and we should win. That's the attitude we have to have.''
Somehow, it still wasn't a problem for the NBA's deepest team. Moving the ball with flair and running circles around the Clippers, the Kings cruised to a rout.
``It's a test of our will right now, because it seems like this team has got a curse,'' Jackson said, only half-joking. ``It's going to be tough, and we're going to be tired. We just have to play through it, because when we don't let things get to us, we play the best team basketball in the NBA.''
The Kings got impressive games from Jackson, who went 12-of-17 from the field and had eight rebounds, and Christie, who hit five 3-pointers.
Webber scored 16 points despite his sickness, and Gerald Wallace added 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Kings improved to 8-0 at home and maintained their spot atop the Pacific Division with their seventh win in eight games.
Elton Brand had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had 12 healthy players but not much energy after a difficult overtime victory over New Jersey one night earlier. The Clippers shot poorly and gave up several big runs by the Kings and nobody could guard Jackson.
``Bobby just really took over the game and made some big moves for that team,'' Brand said. ``Until the third quarter, we were right in the game and then Bobby got going, and everything fell apart.''
Andre Miller, who had 37 points and 16 assists against the Nets, had 13 points and 11 assists. Marko Jaric added a career-high 19 points as Los Angeles lost for the fourth time in six games.
Jackson has raised his game remarkably while starting in place of injured Mike Bibby this season. He was outstanding both inside and outside against the Clippers. He hit consecutive 3-pointers and a breakaway layup late in the third quarter to kick-start a 16-2 run that put the game away.
``Bobby Jackson broke the game open,'' Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. ``He got an easy layup, but almost all the other shots were tough, with a hand in his face.''
Stojakovic missed his fourth straight game with inflamed tissue in his right heel, and top reserve Turkoglu was out with a sprained right wrist. They joined Bibby, Mateen Cleaves and Scot Pollard on the Kings' already crowded bench.< ^Notes:@ Adelman won his 200th game with Sacramento. ... Tampa Bay Devil Rays slugger Greg Vaughn, a Sacramento native, was in his usual seat. ... Sacramento beat the Clippers for the 12th time in 16 meetings.
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