Webber Leads Kings to Impressive Victory

With Chris Webber scoring 24 of his 41 points in the second half, Sacramento erased a 28-point second-quarter deficit and beat the Phoenix Suns, 100-89, Wednesday night at Phoenix.

The 28-point rally was the biggest in the NBA this season, surpassing Sacramento’s comeback from a 24-point deficit to beat Miami, 101-97, on Dec. 10.

“Just believing in each other,” Webber said. “At halftime, we said, ‘If we’re going to lose, we’re going to go out fighting.’ ”

The Suns led, 64-40, at the half, when Kevin Johnson was added to the “ring of honor” at America West Arena and had his uniform No. 7 retired. What followed was by far the largest collapse in Phoenix’s franchise history as Sacramento outscored the Suns, 60-25, in the second half.

Webber, playing for the second night in a row after missing 10 games because of a sprained left ankle, was 11 of 14 from the field in the second half and finished with 14 rebounds in 43 minutes.

Dallas 93, Miami 86--Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and Michael Finley made a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks won at Miami.

The Mavericks won for the fourth time in five games and handed the Heat only their third loss in their last 17 home games.

The Heat was playing for the first time without leading scorer Eddie Jones, who was put on the injured list after dislocating a shoulder Monday against the Pistons. Jones might not be back until the playoffs.

Utah 86, Seattle 82--Karl Malone scored 26 points and the Jazz blitzed the SuperSonics with a dominant second quarter before holding off a late rally to win at Salt Lake City.

Philadelphia 102, New Jersey 94--Allen Iverson had 38 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the 76ers rallied for a victory at Philadelphia.

Milwaukee 101, Boston 94--Sam Cassell scored 24 points and Tim Thomas came off the bench to add 22 points to lead the Bucks at Boston.

Orlando 112, Detroit 102--Tracy McGrady had 37 points and 11 rebounds at Orlando, Fla., and the Magic won for the fifth time in six games. McGrady has scored 30 or more points 20 times this season.

Washington 88, Cleveland 83--Mitch Richmond scored 17 points at Cleveland as the Wizards ended a seven-game losing streak.

Houston 104, Atlanta 98--Steve Francis made a three-point basket with 25.3 seconds left and the Rockets came back from a 23-point deficit at Atlanta.

New York 79, Indiana 75--Latrell Sprewell scored 26 points, including the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left, as the Knicks scored the final 10 points to win at Indianapolis.

Around the League

Indiana’s Reggie Miller was suspended for one game and fined $10,000 by the NBA for hitting a referee with a wad of chewing gum during Tuesday’s game against New York. . . . Dallas forward Juwan Howard has been sued by a Chicago woman who contends he knowingly infected her with genital herpes. The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages. . . . Forward Anthony Miller signed a 10-day contract with Philadelphia, which put Roshown McLeod on the injured list.