Peja's 37 too much for depleted Cavs
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Already the NBA's best home team, Sacramento wants to
be Kings of the road, too.
Peja Stojakovic scored 27 of his 37 points in the second half Thursday
night as Sacramento opened its longest road trip of the season with a
95-89 win over the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Kings will play their next five away from Arco Arena, where they have
dominated in recent years and are a league-best 21-3 this season.
Now, they want to make their out-of-town record (9-7) just as impressive.
"It's tough to travel, make a long trip in the cold weather," said Kings
guard Mike Bibby, who had a key assist in the final minute. "But that's
what you do in the NBA. You have to play through those things. We did it
tonight, and now we have to do it all over again tomorrow (at Memphis)."
Stojakovic, on a tear of late, scored 20 in the third quarter and the
Kings held off the Cavs, who played their second straight game without
injured rookie LeBron James but nearly rallied from a nine-point deficit
in the final minutes.
Brad Miller had a key putback off a missed free throw with 57.5 seconds
left as Sacramento became the first Western Conference team to reach 30
wins.
Vlade Divac had 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and Miller had
15 rebounds for the Kings, who have won 10 of 12 overall and are 13-2
against Eastern Conference teams.
Dajuan Wagner had 20 points, and Carlos Boozer 15 with 11 rebounds for
the Cavs.
Cleveland only dressed nine players and was again without James, who
still hasn't been able to run on his sprained right ankle.
The Cavs were also short-handed because Jeff McInnis and Ruben Boumtje
Boumtje, acquired Wednesday in a trade with Portland for Darius Miles,
hadn't had their physicals yet.
"We're wounded, but we showed we can play with them," Cavs guard Kevin
Ollie said. "We showed a lot of heart."
Sure enough, Cleveland was within 89-87 with 1:13 remaining when Wagner
made two free throws.
Divac missed a free throw -- he clanked his last four from the line --
with 57.5 seconds to go, but Miller made the play of the game by smartly
sneaking behind Boozer on the baseline to grab the rebound and score while
being fouled.
He missed the free throw, but had already done his damage.
"I can't give all my tricks away," Miller said with a laugh of his veteran
move. "I fooled them with my blazing quickness."
Kings coach Rick Adelman knew how important Miller's play was.
"It was huge," he said. "We usually don't get the offensive boards, but
maybe our time was due. That was an enormous play. If he doesn't make that
play, who knows what happens."
Boozer hit two foul shots to make it 91-89, but Bibby penetrated in the
lane and made a nice pass underneath to Divac, whose layup sealed it with
24.7 seconds to play.
"We did a good job down the stretch moving the ball," Stojakovic said. "We
played with the game on the line."
Ollie, who is losing his starting job to McInnis, had nine points, nine
assists and matched a career high with 10 rebounds for Cleveland.
After scoring just 10 points -- all in a 1:29 span of the opening quarter
-- in the first half, Stojakovic hit all four of his 3-pointers and
converted two three-point plays in the third as the Kings opened an eight
-point lead.
The Kings shot 74 percent (14-of-19) in the quarter and made five of six
3s.
"We don't worry about our offense," Divac said. "We can score. When we
play defense and move the ball around, good things happen."
Sacramento, which shot a season-low 33 percent in a loss on Tuesday to
Portland, started out hot from the floor. But the Kings went just 1-
for-15 during a stretch of the second quarter that allowed the Cavs to
build a six-point lead.
But Bibby hit two free throws and drained a 3-pointer as the Kings tied
it at 41 by halftime.
Game notes
James was walking better and said he hopes to play Saturday against
Philadelphia. "When it feels better, I'll play," he said. "You can't learn
too much sitting on the sidelines. I'd rather be in there." ... McInnis and
Boumtje Boumtje arrived during the game and are expected to practice Friday
. Cleveland coach Paul Silas said McInnis will start against the 76ers, and
that's fine with the seven-year veteran, whose arrival will free James of
his point guard duties. "I've been playing and I'm ready," McInnis said.
"They want me to handle the ball. That's fine with me." ... The Kings came
in ranked first in the league in scoring, field-goal percentage and assists
. They're No. 2 in free-throw percentage.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=240122005
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