Bobby Jackson hopes to enliven struggling Kings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Bobby Jackson expects to play for the Sacramento Kings on Sunday after missing the last five weeks with a strained muscle in his abdomen.

Jackson, the NBA's top sixth man last season, also expects the Kings to return to the form they showed before he got injured _ before Chris Webber returned from a knee injury 3{ weeks ago. That's when Sacramento hit its worst slump of the year while trying to integrate its best player into what had been the NBA's best team.

``We know how good we can be,'' Jackson said after feeling no discomfort during a lengthy practice Friday. ``We're not giving that same effort every night. We're not guarding nobody. That's one through 10. Everybody is killing us. We know what we've got to do. We can't make excuses. We have to come out and play defense.''

The Kings (51-21) led the Western Conference by just two games entering Friday's action _ a tenuous hold on the spot they've occupied since late November. Sacramento is 8-6 since Webber's return, including four losses in the last six games.

Jackson averaged 13.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game before getting hurt Feb. 20 at Chicago. He has missed 19 games.

``My stomach is fine, but my feet are barking like I ran a marathon today,'' Jackson said. ``You never know with this injury. There's always going to be a little discomfort. If I need surgery, I can get it after the season, but right now I think I need to be out there.''

Jackson's absence has been costly, forcing Mike Bibby to play extra minutes and leaving the team without a true point guard when Bibby rested. The Kings also miss Jackson's spark plug presence on their defense, which has allowed 103.7 points over the last six games.

The Kings refused to rush Jackson back, because such injuries can linger for months if not properly rested. Shaquille O'Neal battled a stomach injury for much of last season, and Washington's Gilbert Arenas twice re-injured himself earlier this season when he attempted to come back too early.

Forward Gerald Wallace, out 15 games with a sprained left foot, also returned to practice Friday. He expects to play Sunday, forcing the Kings to make a roster move that might send guard Rodney Buford to the injured list.

Sacramento also has fallen 1{ games behind Indiana for the NBA's best record, while the Los Angeles Lakers moved within 2{ games of the Pacific Division lead with their 115-91 pounding of the Kings on Wednesday night.

Coach Rick Adelman put the Kings through a physical workout Friday, with another planned for Saturday, a day before a home game against the Wizards. Six of the Kings' final nine games are on the road, including a brutal trip to face all three playoff-bound Texas teams next week.

Barring any setbacks, Adelman expects Jackson to play approximately 20 minutes Sunday.

``I told him, 'I don't care about your feet,''' Adelman said with a grin. ``He hasn't been out here in a long time, but you can see the difference he makes just by being out here at practice. He raises the level. It changes the rotation a lot having him ready to play, and it changes our energy level off the bench.''

Via Associated Press

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Pacers win, Kings lose - Indiana's lead grows

The Indiana Pacers have the NBA's best record, and their lead over the Sacramento Kings - their opponent Friday night - is growing.

Ron Artest scored 21 points to lead the Pacers to an 80-71 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, making Rick Carlisle the sixth coach to win at least 50 games in his first three seasons since the NBA expanded the schedule to 82 games in 1967.

Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Paul Westphal, Gregg Popovich and Rick Adelman are the others.

Indiana improved the NBA's best record to 50-17, while Sacramento fell to 49-19 with its second straight loss _ 114-108 to Washington.

Elsewhere, Atlanta edged Dallas 111-110; the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Clippers 106-103; Toronto topped Utah 85-81; New Orleans crushed Philadelphia 104-80; Boston defeated Denver 104-100; and Golden State downed Orlando 110-85.

Carlisle won exactly 50 games in each of his first two seasons coaching the Detroit Pistons before being replaced by Larry Brown last summer. He was hired by Pacers president Larry Bird in September and appears headed for much more than 50 wins this season.

The Pacers closed with a 10-0 run to put away a Portland team that had made a habit of beating the league's best teams in recent weeks.

Indiana is 11-1 at home against Western Conference opponents, including seven consecutive wins.

``Right now we're in a good position, but we take nothing for granted,'' Carlisle said. ``Winning 50 was certainly one of our goals, but we still have a lot of work to do.''

Reggie Miller added 18 points for the Pacers, who overcame a big disparity at the free-throw line (25-6).

The Blazers, who beat Sacramento and Minnesota twice during their four-game win streak, went scoreless for the final five minutes.

Wizards 114, Kings 108

At Washington, Kwame Brown set career highs with 30 points and 19 rebounds while playing all 48 minutes.

Brown shot 12-for-16 from the field and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line, including two free throws with 23.6 seconds left to give the Wizards a 113-105 lead. Washington snapped its seven-game losing streak.

``We knew they were going to underestimate us,'' Brown said.

Gilbert Arenas had 27 points, 10 assists, a career-high eight steals and five rebounds for Washington while also playing the entire game. Jerry Stackhouse came off the bench for the second straight night with 21 points and seven assists.

Hawks 111, Mavericks 110

At Dallas, Stephen Jackson scored 36 points, including 31 in the first half, and Atlanta led by as many as 26 in snapping the Mavericks' nine-game home winning streak.

Atlanta opened a big lead behind Jackson's 12-for-16 shooting before Dallas used a 34-21 fourth quarter to nearly pull off the biggest comeback in franchise history. But Steve Nash failed to hit the rim on a fading left-handed runner at the buzzer.

Nash scored 30 points _ 25 in the second half _ and Dirk Nowitzki added 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who began the night with a league-best 29-4 home record.

Lakers 106, Clippers 103

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and four teammates scored in double figures.

Shaquille O'Neal had 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots before fouling out with 1:52 left, and Karl Malone had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his fourth game since missing nearly three months with a knee injury.

The win was the seventh in nine games for the Lakers (45-23), who moved a season-high 22 games over .500 and within four games of the Kings.

Raptors 85, Jazz 81

At Toronto, Vince Carter scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall each added 17 points for the Raptors, who are 2-0 since Rose returned to the lineup after missing a month with four broken bones in his right hand.

Gordan Giricek had 25 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 20 for the Jazz (34-34), who remained 1{ games behind Denver in the West.

Hornets 104, 76ers 80

At New Orleans, rookie David West hit all seven of his shots for a career-high 15 points and fueled a momentum-changing third-quarter surge.

Baron Davis added 20 points, hitting a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer and two more early in the fourth as the Hornets pulled away.

Celtics 104, Nuggets 100

At Boston, Paul Pierce had 28 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics improved to 12-1 when playing at home on St. Patrick's Day.

Warriors 110, Magic 85

At Oakland, Troy Murphy came off the bench for 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Golden State won back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month.

Via Associated Press

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Webber incomplete without his ring

There have been great players - John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins - whose greatness was never challenged, even though they never won an NBA title. But Chris Webber says he has to get a ring. He'll be incomplete without one.

"It doesn't make you less of a player, but it's something that definitely I would be empty without after my playing career," Webber said before the scoring 15 points in the Kings' 94-77 loss to the Nets last night at the Meadowlands. "I can't say I wouldn't. I can't say it wouldn't affect me. I would be empty without it.

" . . . I don't think it makes me," Webber added. "Barkley's a great player, Dominique's a great player, so it doesn't make you. But it's something I want and something that I think would signify me in my mind as a pretty good player."

Via New York Post

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