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Evans' late shot lifts Kings over Spurs

Jan 21, 2012 - 5:29 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Tyreke Evans' jumper with 47.2 seconds left in the game was the difference as the Sacramento Kings escaped San Antonio with an 88-86 victory on Friday.

The Spurs had a chance to send the game into overtime in the closing seconds, but Danny Green's runner was short and Tim Duncan's putback attempt rimmed out at the buzzer to seal the Kings' second straight win on the heels of a three- game losing streak.

Evans finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Marcus Thornton and DeMarcus Cousins each had 17 points for Sacramento.

"It's probably the biggest win of the year so far for us. A playoff tested team, a championship team," Kings guard John Salmons said. "They have banners in the rafters and for us to come and get a win like that in a close game that just says how much this team has grown. If we can continue to get better, we can shock a lot of people."

Tony Parker had a game-high 24 points for the Spurs, who had defeated the Kings 12 straight times entering the game.

Duncan, DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter netted 10 points apiece in the Spurs' first loss at home this season, falling to 9-1 on the year.

Sacramento held a 73-67 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Spurs opened the frame with seven straight points to take their first lead of the game, 74-73.

After a Thornton jumper and a Cousins free throw put Sacramento back on top, San Antonio reeled off a 10-2 run in which Matt Bonner and Parker each had five points to take its largest lead of the contest, 84-78, with under four minutes to play.

The Spurs, though, would not make another shot from the field, recording their final two points on a pair of Splitter foul shots, and missed their final five shot attempts.

Sacramento, on the other hand, shot 5-for-7 down the stretch as the Kings closed out the game scoring 10 of the final 12 points for the win.

"We still had a chance as we played good defense which gave us an opportunity to win the game and it just didn't go our way," Parker said. "During the last 3-4 possessions they made every shot as we didn't make shots. That's basketball."

Sacramento used a strong defensive effort in the first quarter to take a 32-20 lead into the second quarter, recording nine points off of four San Antonio turnovers and holding the Spurs to 36.8 percent shooting.

The Kings' lead stretched to 40-25 early in the second before the Spurs closed out the half outscoring Sacramento by a mark of 22-10 to get within 50-47 at the break.

But an 11-3 spurt by the Kings in the middle of the third quarter put them ahead by nine, 67-58, and they held on for a 73-67 advantage after three.

Game Notes

Sacramento improved to 2-7 on the road...The Kings held a slim 46-45 advantage on the glass...Each team scored 40 points in the paint...Bonner finished with seven points and six rebounds.