Kings Limit Duncan to End Spurs’ Streak

Even the Sacramento Kings were starting to believe the whispers that they couldn’t beat the NBA’s best teams -- until they notched a big win over the team that usually plays them tougher than anybody.

Peja Stojakovic made a season-high six three-pointers, and Mike Bibby scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half of the Kings’ 86-81 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

Stojakovic scored 28 points, and Chris Webber had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, who ended the Spurs’ five-game winning streak. Sacramento also avoided its first three-game home losing streak since April 2000 with a gritty fourth-quarter performance against the Spurs, who had won three of their previous four in Sacramento. The Kings also hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Nov. 26.

“We laughed about it after the game,” said Webber, who also had seven assists. “I told Brad [Miller], ‘Maybe we’re good now.’ ... We heard that talk, but we don’t believe it. It was a good win, but it doesn’t make us better than we were three hours ago.”

Sacramento, which had lost its previous two home games to Miami and Golden State, led through most of the fourth before San Antonio tied it on Brent Barry’s three-point basket with 4:42 left. Stojakovic answered with a three-point basket, and Miller then sank a desperate 22-footer as the shot clock expired with 2:49 to play.

San Antonio got back within 80-78 on Tim Duncan’s three-point play, but Webber made a jumper with 1:10 left, and Manu Ginobili missed two open three-point shots in the final seconds.

Ginobili scored 18 points, and Tim Duncan got only six of his 14 points in the second half.

“I thought Sac crowded [Duncan] real well,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said. “They did a good job of bringing guys at him. They mixed things up real well.... Holding Sac to 86 points, that’s tough to do. Our shooting and free throws betrayed us.”

San Antonio made 34 of 88 field goals and only nine of 18 free throws.

Detroit 100, Boston 88 -- Rasheed Wallace had 23 points and 12 rebounds at Auburn Hills, Mich., to lead the Pistons to their fourth win in their last five games.

Six Pistons scored in double figures, and Ben Wallace had eight points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Tony Allen had a career-best 18 points for Boston, which has won only one of its last five games.

Dallas 123, Milwaukee 104 -- Dirk Nowitzki had 39 points in the Mavericks’ victory at Dallas.

Nowitzki, who scored 21 points in the first half, made 14 of 25 shots from the floor for his 11th 30-point game of the season.

The Mavericks shot 53% from the floor (47 of 89) and equaled their season-high point total.

Mike James scored 20 points for Milwaukee.

Houston 99, Utah 80 -- Tracy McGrady scored 25 points at Houston, and the Rockets used a 23-4 third-quarter run to earn their third consecutive victory. Gordan Giricek had 15 points for the Jazz, which lost its fifth in a row.

Washington 104, Atlanta 101 -- Reserve guard Juan Dixon scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter at Washington to help the Wizards hand the Hawks their fourth loss in a row.

Larry Hughes led the Wizards with 26 points. Tony Delk had 19 points for the Hawks.

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LeBron James was fitted with a mask to protect his broken left cheek and might play in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game tonight at Charlotte against the Bobcats even though he shot only during practice Sunday. James was injured by Houston center Dikembe Mutombo’s elbow during a game Wednesday night.