|
Kings-Cavs: 56k | 300k adidas Play of the Day Wagner: 56k | 300k |
With the score tied 69-69 after three quarters, Webber scored six points in a 10-2 run that gave the Kings the lead for good.
After Cleveland pulled within 85-83 with just over two minutes left, Webber drained a jump hook and a follow shot around a free throw by Cleveland's Zydrunas Ilgauskas to secure Sacramento's sixth consecutive win.
"I changed my mental approach for the second half," Webber said. "We started to run the pick-and-roll and our guards made it easy for me to get shots."
After missing the entire preseason and first 14 regular-season games following surgery to remove a clot near his bladder, Wagner netted 17 points before fouling out in the final seconds. He scored 11 in the second quarter to pace the Cavaliers to a 50-44 halftime lead.
"I wasn't nervous, I don't get nervous playing basketball," Wagner said. "I was just trying to get comfortable."
A three-pointer by Bimbo Coles with three minutes left represented the lone fourth-quarter basket for Cleveland, which dropped its 11th straight game.
Cleveland's skid is its longest since a 12-game losing streak from Jan. 4-26. Including the final four games of the 2001-02 season, the Cavaliers have dropped 17 of their past 19 contests.
"Tonight's game was painful, painful, painful and the growing pains of a young team," Cavaliers coach John Lucas said. "I thought we did a lot of positive things for a long period of time, but in the end, we are young and had no direction and that cost us the game."
In the second quarter, it looked like the Cavs might finally put an end to their slide.
Trailing 42-36 after Hedo Turkoglu's free throw with 3:22 to play, Cleveland scored 14 of the final 16 points of the half. Wagner, showing no hesitation to shoot despite the long layoff, drained a pair of three-pointers and hit a free throw in the burst.
Wagner was 4-of-10 from the floor and hit 7-of-9 free throws in 33 minutes. Kings veteran guard Bobby Jackson was impressed.
"The guy has tremendous talent," Jackson said. "The more and more playing that he gets and the more he works on his game. ... I see him being another (Allen) Iverson."
But behind Webber's 6-of-7 shooting, the Kings roared back in the third quarter. Webber netted eight of Sacramento's first 10 points in the period, including a dunk 3½ minutes in that gave the Kings a 54-52 lead.
Webber hit 12-of-22 shots, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots. Jackson added 19 points and reserve Gerald Wallace contributed 15 and eight rebounds for the Kings (13-4), who are tied with undefeated Dallas for the most wins in the league.
Webber got Sacramento going in the fourth with a 16-footer that snapped a 69-69 tie. After teammate Keon Clark stuck a jumper, it was Webber again, this time for a reverse dunk.
Ilgauskas sank two free throws to slice the deficit to four, but Wallace dunked and Webber drained another mid-range jumper to give the Kings their biggest lead of the quarter at 79-71.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers were trying to survive at the free throw line, where they were 13-of-19 in the final quarter. From the field, Cleveland missed 14-of-15 attempts.
"When you shoot 36 percent, you're not going to beat many basketball teams," Lucas said.
Ricky Davis scored 22 points and Ilgauskas added 16 and 11 rebounds as the Cavs suffered their fifth straight home defeat.
Covered by Wallace, the free-shooting Davis managed just eight points in the second half.
Doug Christie scored 10 points for the Kings, who shot 47 percent (34-of-73) while posting their fifth straight win over the Cavaliers.
Sacramento was once again without the services of starting forward Peja Stojakovic, who has missed two straight games with an injured right heel.







