KMAX: Sports

SACRAMENTO, Calif.: Jan. 7, 1997.

The Kings' injury problems might have caught up to them as several players struggled but luckily for Sacramento's five-game winning streak, the Nuggets weren't good enough to take advantage.

The Kings played with their usual freedom and outstanding flow in the opening minutes, shooting 63 percent in the first quarter and leading by 19 early in the second, but both teams then went into prolonged funks.

Sacramento committed turnovers on six straight possessions while scoring just two points in the final 6:16 before halftime but Denver wasn't much better, scoring just eight points in several minutes of lousy basketball for both teams.

Christie hit consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Kings got back to a healthy lead. Sacramento held the Nuggets scoreless for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter.

Juwan Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which has its second five-game losing streak in a month with a three-game winning streak sandwiched in between.

The Kings have been without Mike Bibby and Mateen Cleaves all season, while Scot Pollard has been out for a month with a stress fracture in his back that doesn't seem to be getting better.

All-Star Peja Stojakovic recently returned to Sacramento after traveling to Yugoslavia to consult with a specialist on the inflamed tissue in his heel. Stojakovic has missed eight games with the injury, while key reserve Hedo Turkoglu has missed five games with a sprained wrist.

To top it all off, Lawrence Funderburke, the Kings' rarely-used backup big man, missed his second straight game with inflamed tissue and tendinitis in his left foot.

Improbably, the Kings have thrived with eight healthy players and just five who were with Sacramento last season. What's more, the Kings have played 22 games more than any NBA team so far this season.

The Kings have three straight road games next week, while Denver plays its next two at home.< ^Notes:@ Nuggets rookie Nene Hilario was sat out with a strained neck. He'll be re-evaluated on Saturday before Denver's home game against Indiana. ... Twice in the first half, Sacramento's Gerald Wallace knocked over folding chairs while making dangerous leaps to save balls that were going out of bounds. Both times, he was successful. ... Denver's Donnell Harvey went 1-of-6 from the free throw line. He also missed his last six field goal attempts.

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