Kings 103, Pacers 98

By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) When the shots weren't falling for Chris Webber and his Sacramento teammates, the Kings got physical and hit the boards.

Peja Stojakovic scored 26 points and Sacramento used a big rebounding advantage in the second half to defeat the Indiana Pacers 103-98 Tuesday night.

``We did it with defense and hard work,'' said Webber, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds.

The Kings trailed by 13 early, but changed the momentum of the game by outrebounding the Pacers 32-18 in the second half, including 11-5 on the offensive glass. Sacramento to outscored the Pacers 23-9 on second-chance points.

Reserve Scot Pollard led the charge, grabbing a rebound off his own miss for a basket for a 62-60 lead. The Kings outrebounded the Pacers 16-11 in the third and 16-7 in the fourth.

Sacramento shut out Indiana on the offensive glass in the fourth, 8-0, including four by Pollard. Pollard finished with 13 points and half of his season-high 16 rebounds were offensive.

``He's our banger,'' Webber said. ``He's our construction worker.''

Still, the lead was swapped eight times in the fourth quarter until Webber gave Sacramento the edge for good with six straight points. His tip-in made it 88-86 with 2:44 left.

Webber had an awful night from the floor, missing one jumper after another. He missed nine of his first 11 shots before bouncing back with nine points in the fourth.

``That's what big-time players do,'' Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said.

The Pacers pulled within one on Reggie Miller's 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining, but the Kings stretched the lead back to seven.

Jermaine O'Neal's 3-pointer and two free throws by Ron Artest cut the gap to 99-96, but that was as close as the Pacers would get. Four free throws down the stretch sealed it for the Kings.

``We needed an ugly win,'' Webber said. ``We've been winning pretty or losing games we shouldn't lose. To win a game like this when guys are missing shots means we did it with hard work.''

And by taking more free throws.

The Kings went 32-for-43 from the line while the Pacers were 21-of-32.

``If we rebound the basketball and make free throws, we win this one going away,'' Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said.

O'Neal led Indiana with 24 points and Artest had 23. Jamaal Tinsley had 10 assists and Reggie Miller added 15 points.

``It seemed like we stopped them and they'd get the rebound and score again,'' O'Neal said.

The Pacers were trying to avenge a lopsided loss in early March, when they accused the Kings of running up the score.

Indiana had all the fun early, racing to a 15-2 lead as the Kings missed nine of their first 10 shots. The Pacers pushed the lead to 52-43 at halftime.

Sacramento turned it around in the third, with Stojakovic and Webber combining for 11 points and ended the quarter tied at 66.< ^Notes:@ Tinsley played his first game since March 22, following the death of his mother last week. Tinsley was whistled for a flagrant foul in the third. ... Kings guard Jim Jackson didn't play because of a stomach virus. ... Sacramento's 39 rebounds matched the most allowed by the Pacers this season. ... The Kings improved to 2-1 on their six-game road trip and are two wins away from clinching their second straight Pacific Division title.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)