Clippers of Old Show Up in Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings, despite playing without Chris Webber for the third consecutive game, moved closer to their second playoff spot in 13 seasons with a 103-81 victory over the formerly resurgent Clippers on Thursday night.

Tariq Abdul-Wahad had a season-high 19 points, and Vernon Maxwell and Scot Pollard each scored 16 for Sacramento, which won for the seventh time in eight games. The Kings, 24-23 and seeking their first winning record in 16 seasons, moved into seventh place in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of Minnesota and 1 1/2 games ahead of Seattle.

Webber, who leads the NBA in rebounding (13 a game) and is the Kings’ top scorer (20.1 points a game), is sidelined with a bad back.

“Chris wanted to try to go tonight, but we didn’t really want him trying to go at 60-70% and risk a setback,” Sacramento Coach Rick Adelman said. “We hope he’ll be ready for Sunday [against Phoenix at Sacramento] and we’ll have him for the last three [regular-season] games.”

Pollard, who replaced Webber in the starting lineup, scored 12 of his points in the first half to help Sacramento take a 66-46 halftime lead. Maxwell had all of his points and made four three-point shots in the Kings’ 41-point second quarter.

Troy Hudson had career highs of 20 points and 14 assists for the Clippers, who hardly resembled the team that had won six of its last 12 games and nearly came all the way back from a 33-point deficit in a loss to San Antonio on Monday night.