Pressley Leads Sacramento to 113-91 Win Over Clippers

Rookie guard Harold Pressley scored 9 of his career-high 19 points in the third quarter, leading the Sacramento Kings to a 113-91 victory over the Clippers Saturday night.

The Kings, who won their third straight, took control of the game with a 23-4 run in an eight-minute span of the third quarter. Pressley hit a pair of field goals and five straight free throws.

Center Joe Kleine had 8 points and 8 of his game-high 15 rebounds during the surge. The Clippers shot only 30% in the third perior.

Eddie Johnson had 20 points, and Terry Tyler and Kleine each added 17 for the Kings.

Mike Woodson led the Clippers with a game-high 25 points, and Rory White added 21. Benoit Benjamin had 11 rebounds and 7 blocked shots for Los Angeles.

“I’ve been searching for this for a while, and it all came together tonight,” Pressley said. “We looked like we were dead out there in the first half--like we were running around in slow motion. Coach (Jerry Reynolds) told us at halftime what we had to do to get it together and we went out and applied it.”

Reynolds thought Pressley’s play was the difference in the game.

“Harold Pressley makes a lot of things happen,” Reynolds said. “He is our liveliest player.”

Clipper Coach Don Chaney said his team was tired after playing on consecutive nights.

“In the third quarter, I felt we got a little tired,” Chaney said. “We couldn’t buy a basket, and Sacramento converted everything. When they get up by 10 points, it is hard to come back.”