PHOENIX (AP) -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim stayed humble in victory.
The power forward scored Sacramento's final six points and
sealed the win with a blocked shot in the final seconds as the
Kings beat the Phoenix Suns 118-117 on Sunday night.
Then he acknowledged that he could have been the scapegoat after
missing two free throws with the Suns leading 114-112 with 1:16 to
play.
"I was just happy that we got back and it didn't hurt us," he
said. "We got a stop and were able to come back down and score. I
got a couple of chances to redeem myself."
Abdur-Rahim broke a 114-114 tie when he made an 8-footer in the
lane with 30 seconds left. Leandro Barbosa answered with a
3-pointer to put the Suns up 117-116. Abdur-Rahim then hit two free
throws with 13.3 seconds left for the final margin.
Kurt Thomas fouled out on the play, a call which drew resounding
boos while Abdur-Rahim scored the winning points.
"We certainly didn't get any calls," Suns guard Steve Nash
said. "But I think the bottom line is that we showed some heart,
fought back, and I thought the second unit was great. Leandro had
an amazing game."
Abdur-Rahim also blocked a layup by Boris Diaw -- Phoenix's last
good attempt to pull out the win. With 0.7 seconds left, Jim
Jackson inbounded the ball to Brian Grant, but his 16-footer from
the side was short, denying coach Mike D'Antoni his 100th victory.
Peja Stojakovic had 33 points to lead the Kings (1-2).
Abdur-Rahim had 23 and 12 rebounds and Brad Miller added 17 and 10.
Mike Bibby had his best game of the young season with 19 points and
Bonzi Wells scored 16 for a big offensive night after the Kings
scored 67 and 89 points their first two games.
"We really moved the ball well tonight," Kings coach Rick
Adelman said. "We still didn't shoot as well as we can. We had a
lot of assists, but they're a hard team to guard. You know they
were going to make a run; they always do here."
Barbosa led eight double-figure scorers for the Suns (2-2) with
23. Nash had 18 points and 13 assists, and Shawn Marion had 16
points and 14 rebounds.
Diaw, another reserve, had 11 points, 11 assists and nine
rebounds.
Miller came up big for the Kings with two key plays in the
20-second span before Abdur-Rahim's heroics. Miller got a defensive
rebound that led to Abdur-Rahim's tip-in that tied it at 114-all
with 40 seconds to go.
Seconds later, Miller took a charge from Marion for a turnover,
setting up the dramatic finish.
The Suns made up a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter,
taking the lead at 111-110 on a three-point play by Marion with
3:06 left to play and regaining it at 113-112 on a three-point play
by Barbosa with 1:23 to go after two free throws by Miller.
Stojakovic had 23 points -- two off Mitch Richmond's franchise
record for a quarter -- in the third period, when the Kings overcame
an eight-point deficit to lead by as many as 11.
"We couldn't stop them in the third quarter," Suns coach Mike
D'Antoni said. "They got hot, and Peja wasn't missing anything.
Rahim down low was a handful, but we figured it out in the
fourth."
Stojakovic made his first six shots in the third and was 9-of-10
-- part of a 13-for-21 effort. He was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers, making
one with 6:37 remaining in the second quarter that gave Sacramento
a 57-56 lead, its first since the opening quarter.
He was 7-of-27 coming in.
"Before the game, I was focused," he said. "I just wanted to
be aggressive. The first couple of shots didn't feel right, so I
just had to keep playing. I can't get down and be upset. You know,
you've got to think about your next shot, not about previous
things."
Game notes
Kings G Francisco Garcia sprained his right ankle and left the game with 6:21 remaining in the second quarter. He was listed as day-to-day. ... The Kings are 14-7 in their last 21 against the Suns. ... Sacramento lost its first three games last season, but finished with 50 wins. ... The Suns, who were an NBA-high 34-10 in back-to-backs last year, split the first of 19 sets of consecutive-night games.