Webber nearly recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Sacramento Kings to their 20th consecutive home win, a 109-93 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Much to Webber's chagrin, the All-Star forward's relationship with Banks, the Victoria Secret's model, has again become a hot topic after the two were spotted together throughout the NBA All-Star festivities this past weekend.
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Wizards-Kings: 56k | 300k ![]() Doug Christie makes his own path against Michael Jordan. Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images |
But Webber did not let the headlines affect his play on the court, nearly recording his second triple-double of the season despite coming out of the game with seven minutes left.
"I've had a few (triple-doubles) in my career," said Webber, who has 15. "They'll keep coming, especially with my teammates."
Peja Stojakovic scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Mike Bibby added 20 for the Wizards, who are a league-best 27-1 at Arco Arena.
"We've been playing great basketball and when somebody comes into our arena, they have no chance," said Kings center Vlade Divac. "When we move the ball around, everybody gets involved, and everybody feels good about themselves, and we play as a team."
Traded by Washington to Sacramento in May 1998, Webber improved to 7-1 against his former club. The lone loss came last Thursday, a 108-101 defeat in which Webber collected 21 points and nine rebounds.
But on Thursday, Webber scored nine points in a 17-5 first quarter run to help the Kings take control.
Stojakovic scored nine points and Bibby added five in a 14-0 second quarter spurt which opened a 47-32 advantage for the Kings.
"We had a lot of fast break points, especially in the first half," Stojakovic said. "We got our hand in there defensively and got a lot of steals."
Sacramento continued to pull away in the second half and led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Richard Hamilton led Washington with 20 points. Michael Jordan added 16, but hit just 6-of-18 shots.
"They controlled the tempo," Jordan said. "We made some crucial turnovers in the second quarter that ignited their transition. When it gets to that kind of game, we just can't compete with that team."
Last Thursday, Hamilton scored 33 points and Jordan added 25 in Washington's win over the Kings.
"I told Mike (Jordan) after the All-Star Game we'll see them in a couple of days," Webber said. "So this was about revenge for last week."
"We beat them at our place and we didn't see their best game," Jordan said. "We had to expect with their crowd and record here, they were going to come out hard and we didn't match their intensity."
The Wizards actually jumped to a 13-4 lead in the first 4 1/2 minutes as Jahidi White had a pair of dunks.
But the Kings went on a 17-5 run for the rest of the quarter as Webber dominated, scoring nine points on an alley-oop dunk from Bibby, a reverse dunk, a hook shot, a layup and a free throw.
After Washington pulled within 33-32 on a short jumper by White with 4:20 left in the half, Stojakovic and Bibby combined for 14 points in a span of 2:39.
"I thought we were good until the 3:43 mark of the second quarter," Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "I spoke to the guys about finishing the quarter strong and taking care of the ball, and we had four turnovers and two bad shots and they blew the lead to 15."
Stojakovic scored on three layups and a 3-pointer and Bibby hit a 17-footer and a 3-pointer to help Sacramento open a 47-32 lead with 64 seconds left in the quarter. Jordan committed two turnovers and Hamilton and Chris Whitney each had one in the 14-0 run.
Hamilton converted two free throws and Christian Laettner connected on a 22-footer for Washington to close the half.
But the Kings scored the first seven points of the second half as Stojakovic hit a pair of jumpers and Divac converted a three-point play, opening the lead to 54-36.
A three-point play by White pulled the Wizards within 62-50 with 5:24 left in the third quarter, but Sacramento responded with a 20-7 spurt as Bibby scored eight points.
A 3-pointer by Bobby Jackson, who finished with 14 points off the bench, gave the Kings their biggest lead at 98-69 with 7:04 left in the fourth quarter,
"Payback was on our minds tonight," Jackson said. "We don't lose here on our home court."








