Jazz Gets a King-Sized Problem

Sacramento’s Vlade Divac blew kisses to the crowd after a three-point basket. Teammate Jason Williams mugged for the cameras after a flashy assist. And the upstart Sacramento Kings pushed Utah to the brink of elimination.

Divac, his left eyebrow stitched and bandaged after he hit the floor, made two key shots in the final 47 seconds of overtime as the Kings defeated the Jazz, 84-81, Wednesday night at Sacramento to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five first-round playoff series.

The Kings can end the series with a win at home Friday night.

Divac’s two jump-hooks gave Sacramento, which had never before won a home playoff game, an 83-81 lead with 22 seconds left in overtime. Todd Fuller missed two potentially tying free throws for Utah with 4.2 seconds left, and John Stockton missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Divac had 22 points for the Kings, who had not won a home playoff game since 1981--when they were based in Kansas City.

Karl Malone had 22 points for the Jazz, who rallied after trailing by 16 points in the second quarter.

New York 97, Miami 73--If it was a prize fight, they’d have stopped it in the third quarter.

The Knicks unleashed one of the most dominant flurries imaginable, using an incredible 32-2 run spanning the second and third quarters to take control of the game--and their first-round series--in defeating the frustrated Heat at Miami.

The victory gave the Knicks a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series and left Miami on the brink of first-round elimination at New York’s hands for the second straight season.

Game 4 is Friday at New York.

“The series is not over yet. It’s far from being over,” Heat center Alonzo Mourning said.

Latrell Sprewell led a balanced New York attack with 20 points.

Tim Hardaway scored only five points for the Heat before being ejected in the fourth quarter. Mourning led the Heat with 18 points.

Portland 103, Phoenix 93--The Trail Blazers ended six years of first-round playoff frustration, outscoring the Suns, 24-10, in the final four minutes at Phoenix to complete a three-game sweep of the series.

Brian Grant led the Trail Blazers with 20 points. Former Trail Blazer Cliff Robinson led the Suns with 24.

The Trail Blazers, a playoff series winner for the first time since going to the 1992 NBA finals, will play the winner of the Utah-Sacramento series in the Western Conference semifinals.

Detroit 79, Atlanta 63--After losing the first two games by 20 points each, the Pistons routed the Hawks at Auburn Hills, Mich., to stay alive in their best-of-five series.

The 63 points were the fewest scored by the Hawks in a playoff game. The previous low was 71 in 1950 when they were the Tri-Cities Black Hawks. Still, the Hawks, with a 2-1 lead, can finish off Detroit in Game 4 on Friday night.

Bison Dele had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead a balanced Piston attack. Ty Corbin led Atlanta with 16 points.

* BOX SCORES, PAGE 11