SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? For the first time since early October, the Sacramento Kings are home long enough to relax – and their play has begun to reflect their comfort.
Peja Stojakovic scored 29 points, Mike Bibby added 27 and the Kings kept the Chicago Bulls winless with a 113-106 victory on Tuesday night.
Bobby Jackson scored 20 points and Chris Webber had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Kings, who remained unbeaten at home with their 11th straight win over the Bulls since Michael Jordan’s second retirement in 1998.
The Kings have looked tired and disorganized at times since returning from their weeklong preseason trip to China, and it didn’t help to start the regular season with five of six games on the road against teams with a combined current record of 29-11.
Their game is improving along with their travel schedule. There’s still plenty of room for improvement – but now, coach Rick Adelman actually has time to make those adjustments.
“We’re getting it all back together,” Jackson said. “With the injuries we’ve had, and the travel, it feels like it’s already been a long season. We’ve got to come out and be more solid. This wasn’t a very good (opponent), but they played hard, and we couldn’t get it going in the first half.”
Sacramento made a 17-2 run in the third quarter against Chicago, then held off the Bulls’ final rally for their second win at the start of a five-game homestand. Still, Adelman ticked off a list of complaints after the Kings’ third straight victory.
“We had perimeter people standing on the outside like they were spectators,” Adelman said. “In the second half, we were so casual. We should have run that up to a 20-point lead, and we didn’t do it.”
Despite Adelman’s issues, the Kings’ powerful offense was in excellent form. Bibby tied his career high with six 3-pointers, and Stojakovic made back-to-back 3s in the fourth quarter to seal it.
Eric Piatkowski scored 24 points for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-5 – and 0-33 on their annual November road trip to the West Coast the past six years. Chicago and New Orleans are the NBA’s only remaining winless teams.
“I feel like we’re playing hard,” Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. “I’m proud of the way they’re playing, but you don’t give out medals for playing hard. That’s what you’re paid to do. We can’t come apart for long stretches and expect to win.”
The Bulls grabbed 20 offensive rebounds but couldn’t stop Bibby or Stojakovic, who expressed interest in playing in Chicago last summer while requesting a trade from Sacramento.
“I was just aggressive going to the ball and coming off screens,” said Stojakovic, who’s 19-for-36 in his last two games after starting the season with 37 percent shooting. “The whole team had open looks, and Mike made some and I made some.”
Rookie Luol Deng had another impressive game for the Bulls, getting 22 points and nine rebounds while taking 19 shots in the final three quarters. Eddy Curry had 14 points and 10 rebounds despite 6-for-16 shooting, but he committed five of Chicago’s 18 turnovers.
“We’re playing together, but we just go through (poor) stretches, and you can’t win like that,” said Tyson Chandler, who had 13 points and 14 rebounds. “It’s never a moral victory.”
Sacramento shot 38 free throws to Chicago’s 18.
Notes:@ The Bulls also started 0-5 in 1999-00. The worst start in franchise history was 0-9 in 1967-68. … Before the game, NBA commissioner David Stern expressed optimism for the latest proposal to secure funding for a new arena in Sacramento. … Kirk Hinrich scored eight points for the Bulls, but fouled out with 7:47 to play. … Skiles berated the referees until the final seconds, coming nearly to midcourt to yell at Tony Brothers even when a foul was called on the Kings.
