LOS ANGELES, 18 November 2003 — The Sacramento Kings continue to be a royal pain for the Golden State Warriors.
Bobby Jackson came off the bench to score 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left, lifting the hosts Kings over the feisty Warriors, 106-104 on Sunday night.
The victory was the Kings’ 15th consecutive against their Pacific Division rivals, including 11 in a row at Arco Arena.
“I had never thought about how many times we had beaten them in a row,” said Jackson, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. “That is a good team, they are playing extremely well. They play hard every night, regardless of who they are playing.”
Peja Stojakovic had 33 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento, (6-4), which remained unbeaten (5-0) at home. Brad Miller flirted with his first career triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
Jason Richardson scored a season-best 31 points for Golden State, (4-5), which hasn’t beaten the Kings since March 9, 1998. Cliff Robinson had 16 points, while Erick Dampier finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
“There isn’t really any moral victories,” said Warriors’ Mike Dunleavy after netting 14 points. “It felt good to come close against the Kings but we want to win.”
After Robinson’s 3-pointer leveled the game at 101 with 1:05 remaining, Jackson buried one of his own, 15 seconds later, putting the Kings ahead for good 104-101.
Dampier hit a follow shot to pull the Warriors within one with 33 seconds left. But Richardson missed a scoop shot that would have given them the lead.
“That’s a shot you know you can make,” said Richardson, who scored 10 fourth-quarter points. “It goes in or it goes out. And I just didn’t put it high enough. I usually make that shot.”
Stojakovic sank a pair of free throws with 1.3 ticks left to wrap up the victory.
Elsewhere:
Toronto Raptors 101 Houston Rockets 97 (2 OT): Looking more like a seasoned veteran than a rookie, Chris Bosh buried a 3-pointer to force overtime, and added 10 of his 25 in both extra sessions, rallying the Raptors past the visiting Rockets.
“I was just playing,” said Bosh, the No. 4 player picked in last summer’s NBA Draft. “It felt good to knock down some shots and get some open looks.”
Vince Carter finished with 18 points as Toronto (5-5) remained unbeaten at home (5-0) but winless on the road (0-5).
Bosh hit his first career 3-pointer with 7.2 seconds left in regulation, to knot the game at 83-apiece.
He made a pair of free throws with 38 seconds remaining in the first extra period to tie the contest at 89.
After Carter’s free throw put the Raptors ahead for good 92-91 with 2:40 to go, Bosh made four foul shots in the final 24 seconds, to seal their fourth straight win over the Rockets.
Steve Francis had 25 points to pace Houston, while Yao Ming added 20 and 12 rebounds.
“He’s poised,” said Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley, who netted 19 points. “I looked at him to take that three, and he looked like he knew what he was doing. Then he goes to the foul line and sinks six free throws. That kid is poised.”
L.A. Lakers 99 Miami Heat 77: Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, including 15 of 16 free throws, and the Lakers manhandled the visiting Heat for their third consecutive victory.
Foul-plagued Shaquille O’Neal added 14 points in just 24 minutes for Los Angeles, (8-2), which led 53-36 at half-time en route to its 20th consecutive win at Staples Center. Gary Payton tallied 13 points, and Karl Malone finished with 11 and 10 rebounds.
Lamar Odom had 18 points and nine rebounds for Miami, (2-8), which had its two-game winning streak stopped, and fell to 0-6 on the road.
