Kings Hand Out Homespun Rout

Peja Stojakovic scored 23 points Tuesday night and the Kings used a big second-quarter effort to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, 99-86, at Sacra- mento.

The Kings won their 19th in a row at Arco Arena and improved to a league-best 26-1 at home.

Chris Webber had 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Kings, who ran off nine consecutive points early in the second quarter en route to outscoring the Spurs, 32-16, in the quarter.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and 21 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost three in a row to the Kings.

Boston 110, Denver 93--Antoine Walker finished with 30 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, and the Celtics outscored the Nuggets, 23-5, over a span of 4:44 late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to pull away at Denver.

The frustration of the Nuggets’ fans spilled over into persistent booing of Nick Van Exel late in the game.

Van Exel, the Nuggets’ leading scorer who went public Dec. 8 with a demand to be traded, has been late for practice twice in the last two weeks.

Because of his latest infraction, on Monday, Van Exel didn’t start against the Celtics. He played 26 minutes and scored 12 points.

As boos were directed at him late in the game, the point guard waved his fingers in a bring-it-on motion.

Van Exel’s only comment after the game, “You’ve got the wrong locker.”

Van Exel and center Raef LaFrentz have been the subject of recent trade speculation.

Dallas 112, Seattle 106--Steve Nash scored 28 points, including five three-pointers, and the Mavericks won a franchise-record eighth consecutive road game.

Nash had 15 points in the first quarter, when the Mavericks shot 72.7% (16 for 22) and scored 39 points.

Houston 85, Memphis 78--Cuttino Mobley scored 26 points and Moochie Norris had 21 at Houston, and the Rockets won without Steve Francis for only the second time in 21 games this season.

Francis sat out again with a migraine headache.

Chicago 96, Milwaukee 92--Ron Artest, who scored 22 points, made a steal and a three-point basket in the Bulls’ fourth-quarter rally at Chicago.

Chicago began the fourth quarter with a 20-4 run, erasing an 11-point deficit. Ray Allen scored 32 points for the Bucks, who have lost six of eight.

Utah 98, Indiana 82--Karl Malone had 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and five steals at Indianapolis, helping the Jazz end a two-game skid and extending Indiana’s losing streak to three games.

The Jazz had 17 offensive rebounds, including eight in the third quarter.

Cleveland 99, Toronto 81--Andre Miller had 22 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds at Cleveland, his third triple-double this season for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland ended a 10-game losing streak against the Raptors.

Phoenix 99, Detroit 71--Rodney Rogers scored 19 points at Auburn Hills, Mich., and the Suns won for the third time in four games.

The Suns outrebounded Detroit, 51-32, and forced 21 turnovers.

Atlanta 105, New Jersey 103--Jason Terry made two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining and Jason Kidd missed a straightaway three-pointer as time expired, and the Hawks held on at Atlanta.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Hawks with 34 points, setting a career-high by making all of his 16 free throws. Terry had 21 points.

Orlando 122, New York 114--Tracy McGrady finished with 36 points, including 20 in the second half, and Pat Garrity scored a season-high 29 for the Magic at Orlando, Fla.

The Magic shot 57% and tied a season high with 35 assists.

Kurt Thomas had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.

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Toronto’s Vince Carter will sit out at least five more games because of a quadriceps injury that kept him out of the All-Star game Sunday. He was placed on the injured list Tuesday.... Denver forward Antonio McDyess postponed his season debut Tuesday night, saying he experienced a “little setback” during the All-Star break. McDyess has not played since having knee surgery in October.... Indiana’s Carlos Rogers was placed on the suspended list after not returning from the All-Star break. Coach Isiah Thomas said Rogers’ absence was unexcused. Pacer President Donnie Walsh said in a statement that Rogers’ agent told him the forward won’t be returning because of family reasons....The Charlotte City Council approved Monday a financing package for a new $230-million downtown arena, but Hornet co-owner Ray Wooldridge told The Times-Picayune in New Orleans that the vote came too late to keep the team in Charlotte. Wooldridge plans to move the Hornets to New Orleans. The city of Charlotte is trying to block the move.