Milwaukee ? Chris Webber was a reluctant hero.
Webber took an inbounds pass from Mike Bibby and hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Sacramento Kings an 89-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. But when Webber first got the ball, he wasn’t looking to try for the game-winner.
“I wasn’t prepared to shoot it,” Webber said. “I actually had Brad (Miller) open but I didn’t see that until I went up to shoot it. And I was actually looking for Michael in the backcourt.”
But with the clocking ticking down, Webber had no choice but to put the ball up from 26 feet away.
“I was way out. I got the shot and it went,” he said.
Bibby had 27 points and Webber finished with 23 for the Kings, who won for the 14th time in 16 games. Sacramento is 8-0 against the Eastern Conference this season. The Kings also beat the Bucks 88-79 on Nov. 21 and swept the season series.
Desmond Mason had 23 points and Michael Redd added 20 for the Bucks, who have lost 12 of 15. What made the loss so hard for the Bucks was that it continued a pattern in which they are in position to win late in a game but rarely come away with a victory.
“It’s getting to be pretty much the same story line and the same ending,” Porter said. “We had a 10-point lead and it evaporated into thin air. We talk about executing better but it’s just not happening when it counts most.”
The Bucks were up 77-67 after a 3-pointer by Michael James with 7:23 left. But the Kings then began their comeback, scoring 12 straight points and went ahead temporarily 79-77 on a basket by Bibby to end the scoring surge.
After several lead changes, James made one of two free throws with 4.5 seconds left after being fouled by Webber to tie the game at 86. Bibby and Webber then connected on the game-winning shot.
Milwaukee led 85-82 after a basket by Redd. But Peja Stojakovic, who scored 19 points, hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left and then made a layup with 9.1 seconds remaining for an 86-85 lead.
Bibby was a key part of the comeback and his scoring kept the club in the game earlier in the contest.
“I thought he was terrific tonight,” Kings Coach Rick Adelman said of Bibby. “He played so well offensively and was active defensively. I just thought Mike had a great game tonight.”
For Redd, each loss is difficult in its own way.
“Every night it is a different thing. One night it’s a rebound. Tonight it was a 3,” he said. “We are knocking right in front of the door. We just need to open it.”
Like Redd, Adelman thinks the Bucks are close to getting through the door for some wins.
“They have been (struggling),” Adelman admitted. ” But we’ve looked at their games and watched them and they’re always in the games. They get close and they can’t finish the deal.
“They need the shot like we got tonight. If they keep playing hard, things will turn for them.”
Joe Smith scored seven points in a 12-0 run, capping it with a basket with 5:58 left that gave the Bucks a 58-50 lead. Milwaukee led 72-65 after three quarters and looked in position to win, only to blow it in the final seconds of the game.
Mo Williams hit a basket with 2.8 seconds left to give the Bucks a 44-43 halftime lead. Mason scored seven points in a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter that lifted the Bucks to a 31-29 lead.
The Kings outscored the Bucks 10-2 over the final 2:36 of the first quarter to lead 22-17. Bibby had five straight points to put the Kings ahead for good at 17-15 in a quarter in which there were eight lead changes.
Notes: Bibby (9) and Webber (8) combined for as many points as the Bucks had in the first quarter. … Bucks coach Terry Porter was a player and assistant coach for the Kings. … Milwaukee’s Keith Van Horn missed his sixth straight game with tendinitis in his right ankle.
