The game was beyond serious. Played at breakneck speed for most of the evening, the Sixers - coming off Tuesday night's, come-from-behind victory in New York - just didn't have the legs to finish.

Allen Iverson, who had a game-high 32 points, shot just 5-for-15 in the second half. Dikembe Mutombo, an offensive force in the first half who finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds, was 0-for-4 from the floor with a single point in the second half. Coleman, who finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, was a 1-for-7 shooter after intermission.

On the flip side, Webber had 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. Peja Stojakovic had a total of 21 points, Mike Bibby added 12, Doug Christie 11 and Vlade Divac 10.

The Sixers went the final 2 minutes, 23 seconds without a field goal. They led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, then saw the lead change hands nine times in the final period. The Kings went ahead for good, 85-84, on a 15-foot jumper by Bibby with 2:09 left. In the final, frantic 13.4 seconds, both Eric Snow and Raja Bell came within an eyelash of huge steals.

"There were some tough plays, some loose balls we couldn't come down with,'' Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "They made some great shots; we had some plays that just didn't go our way. I think we were a little tired, which kind of showed late. They made the plays; we didn't. They're terrific, they play the right way, they pass the ball. Their whole starting team, every one of them has had 30 numerous times in their careers, yet you would never know it. They just share the ball.''

With a 34-30 record and just two losses in the last nine games, Brown still thinks the Sixers can do some late-season damage.

"This was a winnable game, we just didn't get it done,'' he said.