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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- David Robinson is rarely the key
figure for the San Antonio Spurs these days, but he certainly
filled that role against the Sacramento Kings.
Robinson scored six of his 26 points in overtime and also
grabbed 15 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Kings 98-92 Tuesday night.
| | Kings center Vlade Divac battles for possession with San Antonio's Tim Duncan, left, and David Robinson. |
On a night when Tim Duncan missed 16 of 22 shots in a physical
game, Robinson delivered the big points for the defending NBA
champions.
Despite playing with five fouls, Robinson sent the game into
overtime with a free throw, then scored six straight points in the
extra session as the Spurs held off the Kings, who had won the
three previous meetings.
"It's fun being in this situation as the go-to guy, but it's a
little tougher when you're not used to it," said Robinson, who
also had three blocks and two steals. "Tim was a little hurt
tonight, so the rest of us had to step it up. This was a big win
for us."
Bothered after aggravating a slight knee injury early in the
game, Duncan still had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who
outscored Sacramento 14-8 in overtime to win their third straight.
It helped that both Sacramento inside threats, Chris Webber and
Vlade Divac, fouled out in the final 1:17 of regulation.
"It's tough knowing your two big horses aren't out there and
they still have their two big horses out on the floor," Kings
guard Nick Anderson said.
Trailing 86-84 early in overtime, Terry Porter got San Antonio
even with a jumper. Duncan put the Spurs ahead with an outside shot
and Robinson followed with a basket inside and two free throws, to
make it 92-86 with 1:06 remaining.
Although the Spurs shot poorly in the fourth quarter and
overtime, they made things tough for the uptempo Kings, who missed
17 of their last 25 attempts.
"Our defense was on a championship level tonight, especially in
the fourth quarter," Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. "To hold
them under 100 points in an overtime game, that's pretty good."
San Antonio reached the 50-win mark for the fifth time in seven
seasons.
The Kings lost their third straight game at home and have
dropped four of five overall. Sacramento is seventh in the Western
Conference, holding a one-game lead over Seattle.
It's just a really tough loss," Kings coach Rick Adelman said.
"I thought our guys really played hard. Without Vlade and Chris
down the stretch it was tough, but we still had our chances."
Webber had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Divac added 17 points and
seven rebounds. Jason Williams had 17 points, nine assists and
eight turnovers. Anderson scored 16 points and Predrag Stojakovic
added 14.
Sean Elliott had 13 points for the Spurs and Johnson, Porter and Samaki Walker each added 10.
Robinson made 1 of 2 from the foul line with 15.3 seconds left,
to tie it at 84. After a Kings turnover, Johnson missed a baseline
jumper with one second left, sending the game to overtime.
Divac made a short baseline shot and Stojakovic followed with an
eight-footer in traffic, putting Sacramento ahead 84-83 with 28
seconds remaining.
The fourth quarter was a defensive struggle as the Kings
outscored San Antonio 13-11. The teams missed 32 of 39 shots.
Ahead by one at the half, the Spurs built the lead to nine early
in the third. Sacramento ran off nine straight points to tie it,
but trailed 72-71 entering the final period.
Game notes Williams had seven assists in the opening quarter when the
Kings made 13 of 21 shots. ... Mario Elie returned to the Spurs
lineup after missing three straight games with an ankle injury. ...
Divac had 12 of his 17 points in the first quarter. ... Duncan and
Robinson combined to miss all 11 fourth-quarter shots.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
RECAPS
San Antonio 98 Sacramento 92
Chicago 100 New Jersey 93
Dallas 92 Portland 81
Houston 103 Denver 93
Golden State 109 Vancouver 97
Phoenix 95 LA Clippers 88
AUDIO/VIDEO
David Robinson thinks the Spurs are playing better basketball.
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