Bibby Clutch Again in Saving the Kings

Mike Bibby showed the Indiana Pacers that the West is still the best.

Bibby made a jumper from just inside the three-point arc with 1.2 seconds left to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 94-92 victory over Indiana on Friday night in a matchup of NBA conference leaders at Indianapolis.

Jermaine O’Neal made two free throws to tie it at 92 with 24.7 seconds left. Chris Webber fouled out on the play, but Bibby made sure the Kings didn’t endure their first three-game losing streak in more than a year.

“I just wanted to make something happen,” Bibby said.

Bibby dribbled the length of the floor, got away from Jamaal Tinsley and came off a screen to make the game winner.

Bibby scored 25 points and Chris Webber added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings (50-19), who overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to move within one game of the Pacers (50-18) in the race for league’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

O’Neal had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, playing without second-leading scorer Ron Artest. Artest was suspended for one game by the NBA on Friday for elbowing Portland’s Derek Anderson on Wednesday.

“Obviously it’s a huge difference,” King Coach Rick Adelman said about Artest’s absence. “He guards Peja [Stojakovic], he gives them their second scorer. It was a break for us.”

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New York 79, New Jersey 65 -- Facing a Net team missing Jason Kidd (bruised knee) and Kenyon Martin (knee tendinitis), Stephon Marbury had 21 points and nine assists at New York to help the Knicks end a five-game losing streak against their cross-river rival. The victory moved the Knicks a half-game ahead of Cleveland and Miami for sixth place in the East.

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Minnesota 93, Phoenix 80 -- Latrell Sprewell scored all 16 of his points in the second half at Phoenix, including five during an 18-1 run, to help the Timberwolves end a two-game skid.

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Utah 97, Cleveland 88 -- Raja Bell scored 23 points at Cleveland to help the Jazz end the Cavaliers’ seven-game winning streak. LeBron James, sick with a cold, had 14 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 24 points.

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Golden State 90, Houston 84 -- Rookie Mickael Pietrus had a career high 20 points as the Warriors ended a 15-game home losing streak to the Rockets. Yao Ming had only 10 points on four-for-15 shooting for Houston.

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Detroit 94, Denver 75 -- Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points and surpassed the 10,000-point mark in his nine-season career at Auburn Hills, Mich., to lead the Pistons to their seventh straight victory.

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Dallas 120, Boston 104 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Antoine Walker added 21 points and nine rebounds against his former team at Dallas. Dallas improved to 30-5 at home, matching Sacramento for the NBA’s best home record.

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Seattle 91, New Orleans 80 -- Rashard Lewis scored 31 points at New Orleans as the SuperSonics’ winning streak reached four, all on the road.

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Chicago 96, Toronto 91 -- Eddy Curry had a season-high 28 points at Chicago to help the Bulls snap a seven-game losing streak.

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Washington 94, Atlanta 84 -- Kwame Brown had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Gilbert Arenas had his third triple-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Washington.