- Brian Skinner made his first start for the Cavaliers during their 109-102 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday night in place of forward Lamond Murray.

Skinner started because Murray was benched for all but the final minute of the first quarter by coach John Lucas after arriving late to Arco Arena.

Skinner put in a solid performance. He scored a season-high 10 points and his 12 rebounds tied a season high. Skinner ran the floor and at times played some solid defense on Chris Webber.

"Skinner did a good job," said Cavs guard Wes Person. "He played well in the first half. He rebounded the ball for us and he had a presence on both ends of the floor. He was very professional. His name was called and he was ready. He doesn't get a lot of minutes and he came out and played well. That's a good sign."

No matter how good the sign was, Skinner wasn't overly excited about the outcome. The Kings won and Webber finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds.

"I don't really try to judge my individual play," Skinner said. "I'm not going to play perfect. I'm not always going to be happy with the way I'm going to play. I think I could've played some better defense. There were some shots I missed. It's the little things that help make up the bigger picture."

The picture also includes the Cavs losing seven straight and 10 of their last 12. Against the Kings, Jumaine Jones had 16 points and Andre Miller had 17 points and 13 assists. Person had 15 points. Last night's game against Golden State was the 13th of the Cavs' 23 sets of back-to-back games. The Cavs are 5-8 the first night and 3-9 the second night going into last night's contest.

The Cavs dominated the third quarter against the Kings, led by Person's string of 10 straight points in a span of 2? minutes. But Webber's early fourth-quarter basket gave the Kings a one-point lead and they were on their way. Everything the Cavs did well during the third quarter - key defensive stops and big shots - was missing during the fourth. The Cavs trailed by three following Zydrunas Ilgauskas' three-point play. Webber came back with a score for an 82-77 lead and this is when the secondary events began.

Webber got loose on a break. Miller planted himself in the lane and Webber ran Miller over as the ball went through the basket. Curiously, Miller was charged with the foul. Lucas received his second technical of the trip. Following the technical foul shot, the Kings led, 85-77, with 8:18 left.

More trouble arrived when Chris Mihm fouled out with 7:01 left. The Kings didn't stop. Peja Stojakovic's trey with 3:59 left gave the Kings a 100-89 lead.

"We were in the game all the way until the fourth quarter," Jones said. "They hit some big shots. We couldn't execute on the defensive end and they hit shots. We just had a lapse at the end."