KMAX: Sports

Kings 107, Bulls 92

By JASON STRAIT
AP Sports Writer

CHICAGO (AP) The Sacramento Kings got the easy one out of the way.

Peja Stojakovic scored 19 of his 27 points in the third quarter as the Kings beat the Chicago Bulls 107-92 Saturday night on the first stop of a six-game road trip.

Now comes five more on the road all against teams either in the playoffs or fighting for a spot in the postseason.

``We're getting ready for the playoffs right now, and we just want to see where we are against these playoff teams and to get ready for the upcoming new part of the season,'' Chris Webber said.

Against Chicago, they were far better.

The rest of the trip won't be nearly as easy. The Kings play Detroit on Sunday, then head to Indiana, Washington and Boston before finishing against Philadelphia.

``We will found out this trip if we're ready for the playoffs,'' Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said.

Webber had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Bibby added 16 points for Sacramento.

The Kings put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter when Stojakovic made a layup to spark a 17-4 run that gave them an 84-68 lead. Stojakovic scored 10 points during the spurt.

After missing a couple of open jumpers, Stojakovic beat the Chicago defense for a series of layups he said helped boost his confidence. Stojakovic was 10-of-17 from the field. He entered the game averaging 23.5 points in the last four games.

``He got about 12 easy points just backcutting real hard,'' Webber said. ``It's a beautiful stroke that he has and I'm glad to be on his team to be able to see it every night.''

Chicago, once again headed for the NBA lottery, has been at its best this season at home. The Bulls are 23-12 at the United Center but were coming off a 51-point loss to the Indiana Pacers on Friday one of the worse defeats in franchise history.

They were better at home, where they had won five in a row, but not by much.

Eddy Curry led the Bulls with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Tyson Chandler had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, and Jamal Crawford had 18 points and 10 assists, but the Bulls shot just 39 percent and were outrebounded 59-46.

``You get down to a good team like the Kings, who can really score the basketball, it is tough to catch them,'' Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said. ``Our guys got a little fatigued.

``We just were not able to recover.''

Chandler, who had just two points and four rebounds in the loss to Indiana, had nine points and five rebounds in the first quarter but shot 3-of-10. He and Curry combined to score 20 of Chicago's first 22 points as the Bulls took a 12-point lead.

However, Sacramento regained the lead on a short jumper by Stojakovic and led the rest of the way.

Afterward, some Kings said they were confident they can finish off the road trip a perfect 6-0.

They've done it before.

Last season, Sacramento became just the 10th NBA team to go without a loss while playing six straight on the road.

``It's a very important road trip and we want to win every game,'' Webber said.< ^Notes:@ Kings center Scott Pollard had 11 points and 13 rebounds ... Bulls rookie Jay Williams had an embarrassing moment in the open court when he faked out Hedo Turkoglu, only to jump too early on a dunk attempt. Williams missed the rim completely, drawing several smirks from his teammates on the bench. ... Of the Kings' six road games, the Bulls are the only opponent out off the playoff race. ... Chandler played 42 minutes despite battling a stomach virus.

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