New Orleans ? When New Orleans finally contained Brad Miller, Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson came through with clutch outside shooting in the fourth quarter.
The surging Sacramento Kings simply had too many weapons for the hurting, hapless Hornets on Wednesday night. Miller scored 24 points, while Stojakovic added 20 and Jackson 19, lifting the Kings to a 94-81 victory that kept New Orleans winless at home.
The Hornets had a 20-point deficit trimmed to nine after Lee Nailon’s one-handed follow of a missed 3-pointer with a little more than nine minutes to go. But 3-pointers on three straight Kings possessions – two by Jackson and one by Stojakovic – made the score 83-67 and all but ended any realistic chance of the Hornets (1-13) notching their first home victory in seven tries.
“We’re a smart enough veteran team that we know when to take shots,” said Jackson, who hit his first six from the field. “We were wide open for those shots, so we just took them and we made them. I just take what they give to me. That’s the nature of this team and most of the time we’re going to execute on it.”
Chris Webber added 12 points and nine assists for the Kings (10-5), who’ve won nine of 10, including four straight on the road. Doug Christie scored 10 as the Kings shot 49 percent.
David Wesley scored 18 to lead New Orleans, which shot 39 percent. Nailon and backup point guard Junior Harrington each scored 15, and David West 10.
The Hornets struggled to get good position inside for long stretches and consequently took only seven foul shots, hitting six. The Kings were 20-of-23 from the foul line.
While Sacramento had no one out with an injury, the Hornets were without recent All-Stars Baron Davis (back) and Jamaal Magloire (dislocated finger), as well as free-agent pickup Rodney Rogers (knee).
“Those guys are really struggling, they’re banged up. You feel sorry for them because they’ve been playing hard and struggled making shots,” Kings coach Rick Adelman said. “That’s really hard because now you’re asking guys to step up and do things they’re not accustomed to. They’ve got to carry the load for them rather than being just role players.”
It was just the opposite for Sacramento.
Miller was 10-of-12 from the floor and had 19 points through three quarters, helping the Kings build a lead that got as large as 70-50 when Stojakovic hit one of his three 3-pointers.
Playing one night after a victory at Memphis, the Kings’ only sluggish play came in the opening minutes when they started 2-for-7 shooting. Sacramento also committed three first-quarter turnovers as the Hornets took a 23-21 lead after one quarter.
But the Hornets’ offense completely vanished to start the second period. The Hornets were 0-for-9 with four turnovers on their first 12 possessions of the quarter for no points. Sacramento, meanwhile, hit seven of its next 12 shots for a 19-0 run, capped by Jackson’s two layups and 3-pointer that gave the Kings a 40-23 lead. Most of that took place with Mike Bibby in the locker room getting his right ankle taped up after he rolled it early in the period.
Wesley finally broke the run with a jumper, marking the Hornets’ first points of the period with 5:14 to go.
“That was basically the ballgame,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “We were fighting uphill all night long. … Against a team like this, if you give them leeway, you’re going to be in trouble.”
Notes: Stojakovic has made 34 straight free throws. … Webber and Stojakovic have scored in double digits in all 15 games.
