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Kings welcome Clippers to town

Dec 27, 2010 - 4:12 PM (Sports Network) - A Sacramento Kings team embroiled in controversy hopes to avoid an eighth straight loss tonight, as they welcome Blake Griffin and the improving Los Angeles Clippers to ARCO Arena.

The hapless Kings lost their seventh game in a row and fell to 0-3 on a five- game homestand Thursday when Earl Boykins scored 19 points off the bench and the Milwaukee Bucks edged Sacramento, 84-79.

Beno Udrih led the Kings with 17 points and Samuel Dalembert scored 13 and grabbed 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which is an NBA-worst 5-22 on the season.

Carl Landry, Donte Greene and Francisco Garcia each finished with nine points and rookie big man DeMarcus Cousins, who was already kicked out of a practice last month, finished with just two points and five rebounds after being removed from the starting lineup.

"I told our guys I'm proud of them for playing hard and I understand there are a lot of frustrations," said Kings head coach Paul Westphal. "Who wouldn't be frustrated at 5-22?"

The Clippers, meanwhile, won for the fourth time in five games on Sunday when Griffin posted his 18th straight double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out, as Los Angeles snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Phoenix Suns with a 108-103 victory at Staples Center.

Eric Gordon finished with 24 points and sealed the victory with a steal in the closing seconds for the Clippers. Baron Davis chipped in 15 points and nine assists, while Randy Foye provided 10 points off the bench in the win.

"Blake did a great job for us. This was a team effort. We scrambled and got it done," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Kings have won five straight against the Clips and 22 of the last 24 matchups between the two clubs at ARCO Arena.