vs.	Sunday, April 15, 2007 | Los Angeles, CA Final: KINGS 105, CLIPPERS 100
SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 2 3 4 T Kings (33-47) 34 26 21 24 105 Clippers (39-41) 23 18 24 35 100 Photo Gallery | Recap | Box Score

LOS ANGELES (AP)
Reserve swingman Francisco Garcia scored 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, and Ron Artest had a career-high 10 assists to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 105-100 victory over the fading Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Mike Bibby, one of six Sacramento players in double digits, scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half as the Kings dealt a severe blow to the Clippers' playoff hopes. Artest had 15 points, including an 18-footer jumper with 36 seconds remaining after the Clippers had closed to 96-92 with a pair of 3-pointers by Tim Thomas 26 seconds apart.

Playing in front of their 13th sellout crowd of the season, the Clippers fell flat on their faces in the first half against the last-place team in the Pacific Division and fell behind by 23 points midway through the second quarter before making it close at the end.

Los Angeles began the day tied with Golden State for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. The Clippers end the regular season with games Tuesday night at Phoenix and Wednesday night at home against New Orleans, setting themselves up for a possible scenario in which they could be mathematically eliminated in the season finale - which is Fan Appreciation Night at Staples Center.

Elton Brand had 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who fell behind by 23 points midway through the second quarter and lost for the 20th time in their past 23 meetings with Sacramento. Point guard Jason Hart, who had become a key ingredient in the Clippers' playoff push after getting waived by the Kings on March 1, started his 20th consecutive game and finished with six points and six assists in 28 minutes.

Corey Maggette, who averaged 25 points for Los Angeles over his previous six games, played 16 minutes in the first half without scoring and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Clippers were in a position to clinch a playoff spot last season by beating Sacramento at Staples Center, but lost that night after blowing a four-point lead in the final three minutes. They eventually secured one with seven games to spare and made it to the second round for the first time in 30 years.

Dunleavy CLIPPERS HEAD COACH MIKE DUNLEAVY: On today's game…. “I was shocked by our first half play. I did not think we had the focus, we came out and turned the ball over and we did not box out. By the half, we were down 33 to three on points versus turnovers and second chance points. Too big of a hole to dig. Our guys had six deflections in the first half. The intensity level…I just do not know what happened there. The second half, obviously we got it back. We were down 24 and we made a run to five. We needed that for 48 minutes. We needed that kind of mental toughness. It has been a lot of games for us in a row, but just the magnitude of the game dictates that mentally you have to just be in it.” On the Clippers' playoff hopes... “We will watch our film. We will see who the guys are that missed box outs, who the guys are that missed plays, made bad plays and we will try and learn from it. Now we are relying on someone else to help us get in. We have two games to play, we need to get wins there and we need to get some help.” On Golden State playing Dallas... “I am hopeful that Dallas plays a great game and gets a win. I hope they are at full strength. I am not the one pulling the trigger on that.” On the play of the Sacramento Kings... “They beat us to second chance and loose balls. They find the guy at the three point line. They had some three point looks and they made some tough shots, they made some big shots. [Francisco] Garcia made a three pointer right in front of our bench to send it back up to 10. It was pretty well defended and contested. That is what happened. When you play close games somebody can step up and make a tough shot and sink you. That is kind of what happened to us.” Hart CLIPPERS GUARD JASON HART: On the play of the Clippers... “We didn’t come out strong in the first half at all for whatever reason. The basketball gods weren’t on our side today. This was a tough loss for us, but we have to look at this game and learn from it.” Thomas CLIPPERS FORWARD TIM THOMAS: On the loss to the Kings... “We are playing for our lives, and we didn’t come out and take care of the ball like we were supposed to. It was just a really tough loss for us tonight. Honestly, we need some help now. We didn’t want to be in a situation were you have to depend on others, but that’s how it is now.” Brand CLIPPERS FORWARD ELTON BRAND: On tonight’s game... “I am real disappointed with the way we played in the first quarter. Some guys made the effort, and other guys didn’t. I am shocked because our guys didn’t come out and play hard. We knew what the task was at hand but we just didn’t deliver. We definitely need help [to make the playoffs], but it doesn’t look like we are going to get any help.” On the Clippers' performance... “We needed to step up and we didn’t. We were down by 20 points in the first half. That isn’t effort, especially when there are play-off implications on the line here.” Musselman KINGS HEAD COACH ERIC MUSSELMAN: On today's game... “I thought it was a great experience for Quincy (Douby), as well as a good experience for Justin (Williams) and Francisco (Garcia). All the guys off of the bench did a great job, and our starters did a phenomenal job to start the game off. Thirty four points was the best we’ve done all season and our passing the basketball in the first half was great. Twenty assists is incredible in one half. We’re really proud of our guys effort. They have been very professional.” On Francisco Garcia’s play... “I think Francisco (Garcia) had a good season for us, and he has really finished the season strong, which can help build his confidence throughout the summer. He’s a vital piece to the Kings going forward. He’s just shooting the ball so well, and the assistant coaches that work with him every day talk about how he hardly ever misses three-point shots when he’s working out on his own before and after practice. And I think we are seeing that pay off right now.” Artest KINGS FORWARD RON ARTEST: On the remainder of the season... “We’re definitely trying to get some good wins. That’s all we have to play for right now. So we just want to win every game that we have left. We just want to win. We’ve lost a lot of games right now, but we’re just trying to put them together every chance we get. We try to take advantage of every opportunity that we come across. We only have two games left and we need to take advantage of them.”

POINTS REBOUNDS ASSISTS STEALS BLOCKS Brand (29) Brand (14) Brand (7) Mobley (3) Brand (3) Garcia (16) Douby (6) Artest (10) Artest (2) Garcia Douby (2)