Webber Wins in Washington

After the hugs, handshakes, cheers and boos, Chris Webber settled himself down and did what he always does--wipe the floor with his former team.

Webber had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his return to Washington, and the Sacramento Kings put on another show in Thursday night’s 115-105 victory over the Washington Wizards.

“I didn’t really want to get emotional,” Webber said. “I tried to really detach myself from it, which is hard to do. I didn’t want to take a lot of wild shots. I’m glad we got a win, and I’m glad we don’t have to play the Wizards anymore.”

Webber may not enjoy playing his old teams, but he sure does well against them. Of his eight triple-doubles, four have come against teams that traded him. He had three against the Golden State Warriors during his four seasons with the Wizards.

Largely because of off-the-court problems, Webber was traded to the Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe at the end of last season. Webber, who didn’t want the trade, performed better than Richmond, who did. Richmond admitted to having “nervous jitters throughout the game,” and missed all five of his first-half shots before finishing with 16 points.

Dallas 90, Denver 81--Gary Trent scored eight of his 18 points during a 15-4 fourth-quarter run for the Mavericks at Dallas.

Afterward, the news got worse for the Nuggets when it was revealed that rookie Raef LaFrentz will be sidelined the rest of the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a drive to the basket in the first quarter.

The Mavericks also lost a player when No. 2 scorer Cedric Ceballos suffered a broken right wrist. The former Laker will be sidelined for six weeks.

Indiana 81, Cleveland 74--Mark Jackson had 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and Rik Smits added 20 points at Cleveland as the Pacers extended their winning streak to five games.

Cleveland scored 27 points in the second half and made only one shot in the final 7:18--Johnny Newman’s layup with 5.4 seconds to play.

The Cavaliers missed 10 shots in a row down the stretch and made only eight of 35 in the second half.

New York 115, Minnesota 113--Allan Houston made a three-point shot with 4.6 seconds to play in overtime to lift the Knicks at New York.

Houston scored 15 of his 26 points in the third quarter and then made the biggest shot of the game to tie his season high.

Phoenix 94, Vancouver 86--Jason Kidd of the Suns had another triple double with 14 points, 16 assists and 17 rebounds at Vancouver.

Atlanta 93, Houston 87--Grant Long scored 20 points to lead the Hawks at Houston.

Philadelphia 98, Chicago 80--Allen Iverson scored 33 points at Chicago as the 76ers handed the Bulls their sixth consecutive home loss, tying a franchise record. The Bulls haven’t won a game at the United Center since last year’s NBA finals.