SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 21 (Ticker) -- With one of their All-Stars on the bench, the Sacramento Kings needed Vlade Divac to expand his game.

Divac scored 17 points and buried his first 3-pointer of the season with 41 seconds left as the Kings overcame the loss of Brad Miller and rallied for a 100-95 victory over Houston Rockets.

Sacramento already was without injured guard Bobby Jackson and played most of the fourth quarter without Miller, who was limited to 18 minutes due to bursitis in his right elbow.

Without their All-Star center, the Kings turned to Divac, who made 5-of-7 shots and collected six assists and five rebounds in 34 minutes - five more than his season average.

"For me, it takes time to get a feeling for the game. Rick knows what he's doing though," Divac said, referring to coach Rick Adelman. "He tries to keep me fresh for the playoffs. It's hard, but we are winning. That's the most important thing."

Divac put Sacramento ahead for good, 92-91, on a layup with 1:46 left and Peja Stojakovic followed with a 3-pointer from the left corner 31 seconds later.

After Houston's Maurice Taylor buried a jumper, Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby got caught in a double-team with the shot clock running down and called a timeout. Anthony Peeler inbounded to an unguarded Divac, who buried a 3-pointer from the left wing.

"When I shot the ball, I felt pretty good," Divac said. "Most of the time, I don't feel good about those shots, usually airballs."

It was just the 10th 3-point attempt of the season for Divac, who is a career 23 percent shooter from the arc.

Stojakovic scored 29 points and Bibby added 20 for the Kings, who moved one-half game ahead of Indiana for the best record in the NBA.

Taylor scored 23 points and Steve Francis had 17 for the Rockets, who have lost 10 straight visits to Arco Arena since March 28, 1999.

"We were not at our best when we needed our best," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We had chances to win, but we just missed. We have to play better."

Jim Jackson collected 13 points and 11 rebounds and Cuttino Mobley scored 16 points. But Houston got a subpar effort from All-Star center Yao Ming, who had 11 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 2:13 left.

The Kings dominated the second half, erasing a 17-point deficit for the second time in as many games.

"I think it says we are a capable team, even when we struggle," Stojakovic said. "But we have to be more focused for the full 48 minutes."

"Playing on the road against a championship-caliber team, when you've got them, you have to make sure you keep them down," Jim Jackson said. "We have to learn to close out games."