Kings Suffer Surprising Loss to Nets

Playing poorly against one of the NBA’s lowliest teams, the Sacramento Kings blew a chance to head home with the league’s best record.

In a low-quality, low-energy conclusion to their second-longest trip of the season, the Kings couldn’t contend with Stephon Marbury or Keith Van Horn on Monday night in a 109-95 loss to the New Jersey Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

Marbury had 26 points and 14 assists, dominating his matchup with Jason Williams, and Van Horn scored 27 as the Nets won for only the third time.

“I’m not jumping up and down, but it feels good--real good,” Marbury said. “This is how I thought we would play coming out of training camp.”

The Nets took control with a 30-15 edge in the third quarter against the weary Kings, who were playing their fifth consecutive road game in a swing up the East Coast and were unable to mount any serious challenge in the final quarter.

It was only the fourth loss of the season for the Kings, who began the night in a virtual tie with the Portland Trail Blazers for the best record in the NBA.

“We’re still a team that’s learning and maybe this will help us out in the long run,” King Coach Rick Adelman said. “When we start struggling, we get really impatient and don’t play well together.

Lucious Harris added 14 points for the Nets, and Jamie Feick grabbed 16 rebounds. Marbury and Kendall Gill each had four steals.

Chris Webber had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings, and Vlade Divac scored 21 points. Williams had only five points and seven assists with four turnovers.

Denver 94, Philadelphia 77--Nick Van Exel scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets at Philadelphia.

“Everybody on the bench kept telling me to take over, and the coaches kept calling isolation for me,” Van Exel said. “They gave me the green light.”

Houston 102, Vancouver 99--Charles Barkley scored 25 points at Houston as the Rockets handed the Grizzlies their 30th consecutive road loss.

Utah 102, Washington 96--Karl Malone had 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Jazz at Salt Lake City.

Around the League

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