Kings Prevail but Not in Style

When the NBA’s two highest-scoring offenses sputtered and stalled, the Sacramento Kings ground out another victory.

Chris Webber got his first playoff triple-double, and Brad Miller made the go-ahead shot with 34 seconds left, leading the Kings to an 83-79 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series at Sacramento.

Webber had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and Mike Bibby scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter for the Kings, who took a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for only the second time since moving to Sacramento.

But the Kings were barely tougher than Dallas on a night when no baskets came easy for either team. Sacramento couldn’t breathe easily until Peja Stojakovic knocked the ball out of Michael Finley’s hands with 11 seconds left, setting up two clinching free throws by Doug Christie.

Game 3 is Saturday in Dallas, where the Kings have lost five games in a row.

Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who got only one field goal in the final three minutes. Steve Nash missed an open three-pointer with 19 seconds left, and Finley made the last of Dallas’ 14 turnovers.

Rookie Marquis Daniels tied it twice for Dallas with free throws in the final 90 seconds, but Miller made an open jumper from the left wing. Nash missed his three-point shot, but Webber missed two free throws with 19 seconds left.

Indiana 103, Boston 90 -- Proving they’re more than Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal, a group of reserves led by Austin Croshere and Jonathan Bender rescued the Pacers with a 21-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to help Indiana take a 2-0 lead in the series.

With O’Neal on the bench and Artest serving a one-game suspension for leaving the bench during a Game 1 confrontation, Bender capped the run with a three-point basket that gave the Pacers an insurmountable 82-72 lead with 7:21 left.

“We all took this and placed it on our shoulders to turn this game around,” said Bender, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Bender teamed with Croshere, Fred Jones, Anthony Johnson and Al Harrington for the pivotal run.

O’Neal led the Pacers with 22 points. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 27 points.

Pierce figured to have an easier time with Artest out, but that wasn’t the case. He made only seven of 18 shots after going five for 18 in Game 1.

“It’s double frustrating,” Pierce said of the Celtics who led by as many as nine points well into the third quarter. “We had an opportunity to take a game when they didn’t have their best player on the court. We just unraveled.”

New Jersey 99, New York 81 -- The mismatch of the Knick-Net series stuck to form with Kenyon Martin finishing with 22 points and 16 rebounds at East Rutherford, N.J., to help the Nets win for the 14th time in their last 16 meetings and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

Martin also had the most egregious foul of the game midway through the third quarter. Although it was not called a flagrant foul, he reached around from behind Dikembe Mutombo and swiped violently at his arms, then shoved Mutombo in the back to earn a technical foul. Richard Jefferson also had a harder-than-usual foul, chasing down Stephon Marbury and clobbering him as he went up for a layup on a fastbreak.

The hard fouls ceased in the final 12 minutes, and Net Coach Lawrence Frank pulled Jason Kidd (15 points) and Richard Jefferson (20 points) with 4:24 remaining and New Jersey ahead by 19.

Marbury had 23 points for New York, which played without Tim Thomas (bruised back and ankle) and Allan Houston (knee soreness).

“For us right now, our mind-set totally has to change,” Marbury said.

Asked whether he thought Jefferson’s foul was dirty, Marbury replied: “No comment.”