Wells' basket with two seconds left lifts Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Although Bonzi Wells was not the
primary focus on the game's pivotal play, it turns out he was the
best option for the Sacramento Kings.
Mike Bibby scored 25 points and Wells made the winning basket
with 2 seconds left, lifting the Kings to a 106-104 victory Friday
night over the Toronto Raptors.
With the shot clock running down, Wells received a pass along
the baseline from Brad Miller, took several dribbles and flipped a
left-handed shot over Jalen Rose.
"I was like the last option. Coach wanted Mike to look for the
screen-and-roll first, and if you don't get that you always go to
the weak side," said Wells, who had 18 points and nine rebounds.
"It was just a great play. It was timed perfectly and I'm just
lucky I made the play."
Sacramento had called a timeout with 21 seconds left and Toronto
was expecting Bibby to take the final shot.
"He (Wells) did a great job of ducking into me on that last
play," Rose said. "We allowed them to swing the ball, we didn't
deny any of the passes. Bonzi did a good job of leaning in and made
a tough leaning shot towards the basket."
With a chance at redemption, Rose missed a 3-pointer at the
buzzer that would have given Toronto the victory.
"We wanted to get Chris (Bosh) ducking in or Mike James going
to the corner," Rose said. "But they did a good job of taking
that away. Unfortunately, the shot didn't go down."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 22 points and eight rebounds for the
Kings, who won their second straight. Miller had 16 points, eight
rebounds and eight assists, while Francisco Garcia added 13 points.
Bosh had 22 points for Toronto, which has lost three straight
and is 0-6 on the road. James scored 17 points, Rafael Araujo
matched his career high with 14 and Mo Peterson also scored 14.
Wells was fouled and made two free throws with 32 seconds left,
giving Sacramento a 104-102 lead. But Peterson followed with a
rebound in a crowd and scored from underneath to tie it.
The Raptors twice built the lead to eight points in the fourth
quarter. But the Kings rallied with a 9-0 run, capped by Bibby's
fifth 3-pointer, for their first lead since the second quarter.
"For a while it looked like it wasn't going to happen," Kings
coach Rick Adelman said. "They were pretty much doing what they
wanted to do. Bosh is tough to handle and James is a really good
offensive player."
Peja Stojakovic, the Kings' leading scorer, missed his third
straight game with a sprained finger.
After a scoreless first half, Rose scored 11 points in the third
quarter as the Raptors took an 85-82 lead into the final period.
"We kind of played lackadaisical in the beginning and they had
the lead throughout the whole game, but we got lucky at the end and
got it," Bibby said.
Bosh scored 12 points and both Araujo and James had 10, helping
the Raptors to a 55-53 halftime lead.
Game notes
Araujo's career high of 14 rebounds came against the Kings
last season in a Toronto victory. ... After missing his first 13
3-point attempts as a rookie, Garcia finally connected early in the
fourth quarter. ... The Kings are now 5-3 at home this season and
have beaten Toronto eight straight times at Arco Arena dating to
1997.
Regular Season Series
SAC leads 1-0
Game Information
- Referees:
- Bill Spooner
- Bennie Adams
- Sean Wright
2022-23 Atlantic Standings
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston | 54 | 24 | .692 | - | W2 |
Philadelphia | 51 | 26 | .662 | 2.5 | W2 |
New York | 45 | 33 | .577 | 9 | W3 |
Brooklyn | 42 | 35 | .545 | 11.5 | W2 |
Toronto | 38 | 39 | .494 | 15.5 | L1 |
2022-23 Pacific Standings
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sacramento | 47 | 30 | .610 | - | W2 |
Phoenix | 42 | 35 | .545 | 5 | W4 |
LA Clippers | 41 | 37 | .526 | 6.5 | L1 |
Golden State | 41 | 37 | .526 | 6.5 | W2 |
LA Lakers | 39 | 38 | .506 | 8 | W2 |