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Abdur-Rahim's late heroics carry Kings over Jazz

Dec 16, 2006 - 6:18 AM SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- This time around, Shareef Abdur-Rahim reversed the roles.

Abdur-Rahim scored 10 of his 21 points in the final eight minutes, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 59 seconds left, to help the Sacramento Kings rally for a 98-97 triumph over the Utah Jazz.

In the first matchup of the season on November 22, the Jazz rallied from a 21-point deficit to post a 110-101 victory over the Kings.

Rookie Dee Brown and Matt Harpring combined to score eight straight points, giving Utah a seemingly safe 84-68 advantage with 10 1/2 minutes remaining.

However, the Kings stormed back and pulled within 97-95 when Mike Bibby drained a 21-footer with 1:28 remaining.

"I thought Mike was fresh down the stretch," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "I thought it was important that he was fresh. He came out very aggressive, taking 18 shots. I thought he was confident in all the shots that he took. He didn't settle, he went to the basket hard, a lot. He got back to rebounding the ball for us."

After Utah's Derek Fisher committed a turnover, Ron Artest found Abdur-Rahim wide open in the left corner for his first 3-pointer of the season for a 98-97 lead.

"I knew I was due - I just spotted up. If it comes to me, I'm gonna shoot it, if I'm open," Abdur-Rahim said. "They got it to me, Ron drew everybody in and thankfully I knocked it down. It's a good win to come into a team that's playing real well, and be able to come into their building and get a win is good for us."

With both teams coming away empty on consecutive possessions, the Jazz had one last chance to win the game, but Deron Williams misfired from the arc as time expired.

"I just missed it. It felt good when I released it; it just came up a little short," Williams said. "It's just frustrating. We built a lead and we were able to sustain it. But then we let them get back in the game, we didn't have any energy, we didn't hit any shots and didn't make any stops at the end of the game."

Bibby had 19 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Martin scored 13 points for the Kings, who outscored the Jazz, 23-7, over the final 8:18.

"We just kept fighting," Artest said. "We were down, there's the high altitude in Utah, I think the referees might have missed a few calls, and we kept fighting, and put it away."

Sacramento shot 40 percent (32-of-79) from the field.

Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko contributed 11, 11 and three blocks for Utah, which shot 46 percent (34-of-73).

Holding a 54-53 halftime lead, the Jazz opened some breathing room in the third quarter. Mehmet Okur's 16-foot jumper with 8:22 left capped a 12-2 run to begin the second half and give the Jazz a 66-55 bulge.