CHARLOTTE, NC, March 29 (Ticker) -- Bobby Jackson came off the bench to pace a decisive third-quarter run as the Sacramento Kings iced the hottest team in the Eastern Conference with a 92-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Jackson, who finished with 16 points and is a serious contender for the NBA's Sixth Man Award, scored seven points in a 17-3 run that brought Sacramento from five points down to a 75-66 lead with 73 seconds to go in the third.

"I was just trying to be aggressive and keep them on their heels," Jackson said. "I wanted to come out and play well, I had a lot of people here."

Chris Webber had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Vlade Divac chipped in with 17 and 10 against his former team as Sacramento kept a 1 1/2 game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Lakers in the Pacific Division. The Lakers defeated Portland at home, 91-79.

NBA TV highlights from Kings-Hornets: 56k | 300k Chris Webber scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half. Garrett W. Ellwood NBAE/Getty Images

"We tried to come out of the half with more energy than we did at the start," Webber said. "We let Bobby go to work tonight. He really played well for us."

Jamal Mashburn had 22 points for Charlotte, which had a seven-game winning streak snapped but stayed two games ahead of eighth-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 11 points and grabbed six boards and Mike Bibby added 10 points for Sacramento, which shot 47 percent from the field and went 18-of-19 from the free throw line.

Charlotte shot the lights out in the first quarter, hitting at a 73-percent (16-of-22) clip to take a 36-27 lead after one, but went cold thereafter, making just 17-of-59 (29 percent).

The Kings caught Charlotte with 3:42 left in the first half, taking a 45-44 lead on Jackson's free throw. But the Hornets rallied for a 55-50 halftime edge and scored the first two buckets of the third for a nine-point lead.

After Mashburn's free throw gave his team a 63-58 lead with 6:39 left, Sacramento caught fire.

Doug Christie sank two free throws and Webber dunked to move the Kings within one. Mashburn hit a free throw, but Bibby drained a 12-footer and Jackson scored, putting Sacramento ahead.

"We missed some key shots down the stretch," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "It ends one streak, but now we have to start another."

"I got to the line and missed some shots," said Davis, who missed five of six free throws. "We had every opportunity this game. We were up almost the whole game."

Baron Davis had 18 points and seven assists and Jamaal Magliore added 15 points for the Hornets, who fought back and forged a 77-77 tie on Davis' basket 69 seconds into the fourth.

The Kings were able to claw back on top and, clinging to an 88-87 lead with 59 seconds left, Divac dunked emphatically off a feed from Bibby, who kept it himself next time and sank a basket for a 92-87 lead with 26 seconds left.

"We knew this would be a tough one, we wanted this one badly and this is a tough place to play," said Webber, whose team improved to 19-15 on the road and 2-0 on its six-game trip.