SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Chris Webber says his hair is in cornrows because he's a moody person. After his defense tied Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz in knots, Webber's mood was excellent.
Peja Stojakovic scored 31 points, and Webber had 26 points, eight assists, eight steals and six rebounds as the Sacramento Kings beat the Jazz 105-90 Sunday in a meeting of division leaders.
Webber, who returned from a sprained ankle six days ago, moves closer to full speed each day. He didn't make many spectacular plays against Utah, but he used quick hands and active feet to match his career high in steals and help hold Malone to eight shots in 35 minutes.
Webber changed his hairstyle on a whim, but so far it's paid off. The Kings haven't lost since he came back.
"I'm just glad I was aggressive today," Webber said. "There was a lot of frustration out there for both teams, and sometimes that's motivation."
The Kings won their fourth straight and snapped Utah's four-game winning streak while creeping within a half-game of the Western Conference lead. If Sacramento can survive its upcoming four-game East Coast road trip, the Kings could make a run at the West's top seed with 10 of their last 16 games at home.
"It was a big game for us, and a big challenge to play this team at home before we go on a road trip," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We really defended them well. We had much better swarming defensively. We were active (and) got our hands on a ton of balls."
Sacramento (42-19) increased its Pacific Division lead to a full game over the Lakers and the Trail Blazers, while Utah (43-19) dropped into a tie with San Antonio atop the Midwest Division.
Doug Christie added 14 points as the Kings improved the league's best home record to 26-5 in front of a raucous crowd in a playoff-ready Arco Arena. Utah was responsible for one of those home losses three weeks ago. But this time, the Kings held off the Jazz throughout a difficult second half.
"They manhandled us all day long," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said and he meant it as a compliment. "They did a great job of getting their hands on basketballs. We couldn't pass the ball, and we had a tough time with 22 turnovers."
The Kings won with a defense that made a season-high 18 steals while holding Donyell Marshall scoreless and frustrating Malone, who refused to speak to reporters afterward.
Jason Williams had 12 points and six assists while thoroughly outplaying John Stockton, but he sat out most of the fourth quarter in favor of Bobby Jackson as the Kings nursed a lead that Utah never cracked. Stojakovic was 11-for-17 from the field and hit three 3-pointers.
"Right now, we're just playing at a high level," Webber said. "I think good teams, when they play well, they create a great atmosphere. There's a lot of intensity in this locker room right now."
John Starks had 17 of his 21 points in the first half for Utah, while Danny Manning added a season-high 20. Manning also stayed on the court after the final buzzer to berate referees Tom Washington and Rodney Mott, who hit him with a technical foul with 45 seconds to play.
"When you're playing against them, you have to be able to play with a lot of energy," Starks said. "They feed off the crowd. The crowd was in it today, and for whatever reason, we didn't play our normal game."
Knicks 86, Heat 83
New York Kurt Thomas had 16 points, 14 rebounds and a huge assist on New York's final basket as the Knicks defeated the Miami Heat. The Knicks, who fell behind by 21 points in the first quarter, had their largest comeback victory of the season and pulled within a half-game of the Heat for second place in the Atlantic Division. It was their third victory over the Heat in four games this season, and this one was close just like all the others.
76ers 97, Celtics 91
Boston Dikembe Mutombo had 18 points and 22 rebounds as Philadelphia clinched a spot in the playoffs. Eric Snow had 19 points and 10 assists, and Lynch had 18 points for the Sixers. Paul Pierce scored 24, and Antoine Walker had 21 points for Boston.
Raptors 101, Grizzlies 84
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vince Carter scored 25 points as Toronto beat Vancouver. Carter shot 5-for-8 in the first quarter and finished the first half with 17 points for the Raptors, who hit 11 of their first 14 shots in the second half and built their lead to 81-61 by the end of the third quarter. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 17 points for Vancouver.
Pistons 95, Pacers 78
Auburn Hills, Mich. Jerry Stackhouse scored 30 points and Corliss Williamson added a season-high 26 as Detroit beat Indiana.
Cavaliers 124, Bucks 110
Cleveland Andre Miller had 19 points, 13 assists and an amazing three-pointer as Cleveland snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Mavs 111, Clippers 93
Dallas Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, all in the first half, as Dallas extended its winning streak over Los Angeles to 11 games. Juwan Howard had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 16 points and seven assists for Dallas, which won for the sixth time in seven games.
Suns 94, Rockets 92
Phoenix Tom Gugliotta sank an 18-footer with 1.3 seconds remaining as Phoenix rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit to beat Houston.
Sonics 109, Lakers 97
Los Angeles Gary Payton scored six of his 24 points in overtime, and also had 11 assists as Seattle rallied to beat the short-handed Lakers in OT.
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