Sacramento Puts Dallas on Ropes

Peja Stojakovic came out of his shooting slump just in time to send the Sacramento Kings home on the verge of closing out their first-round playoff series.

And on the game’s final play, his defense helped too.

Stojakovic, who felt so out of whack the previous game that he took only one shot in the second half, missed 10 in a row in the first half Monday night, then came back with five straight baskets to get Sacramento rolling to a 94-92 victory over the Mavericks at Dallas. The Kings lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1.

Sacramento nearly blew it, though, letting a 91-83 lead with 3:23 left come down to a final play. Steve Nash took an inbounds pass with 8.4 seconds left. Stojakovic wound up on him because of a pick-and-roll with Dirk Nowitzki, and he was able to contain Nash behind the foul line. A fading 18-footer jumper at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

Stojakovic scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half. Mike Bibby led the Kings with 22 points.

Bibby had a chance to ice the game, but missed a tough jumper with 10 seconds left. Chris Webber got the rebound, but was standing out of bounds, setting up Dallas’ last shot.

Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 21 points, but made only five of 22 shots.

Detroit 109, Milwaukee 92 -- If the Pistons were this good on offense more often they wouldn’t have to rely so heavily on their defense.

The Pistons shot 56.9% and got 27 points from Richard Hamilton in taking a 3-1 series lead at Milwaukee.

Even when the Bucks fouled, they found no comfort. The Pistons were 20 of 21 from the free-throw line, including making all 12 in the fourth quarter, eight in the final 1:09.

Damon Jones had 17 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee.

From Associated Press