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New King in Sacramento: Thornton's 29 clips LA

Mar 1, 2011 - 8:03 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Marcus Thornton, fresh off a trade to Sacramento at the trade deadline, scored a season-best 29 points, as the Kings rallied past the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-99, at ARCO Arena.

"Thornton is fitting in pretty well. Marcus was sensational tonight," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said.

Beno Udrih added 19 points and seven assists, Omri Casspi donated 15 points and eight rebounds and Jason Thompson chipped in with 12 points in the victory, which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Blake Griffin posted a double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds, Randy Foye posted 23 points and new addition Mo Williams added 16 points, five assists and five steals for the Clippers, who have dropped five games in a row.

Trailing 83-78 entering the final quarter, Sacramento burst in front with a 10-4 stretch that included nine points from Thornton, who made the score, 88-87, on a short jumper with just over nine minutes to play.

The Clippers responded with the next four points, but the Kings rattled off the following nine capped by an Udrih jumper and a slam from Casspi off a deft pass from Thornton.

Foye answered with a three, and Williams' triple about two minutes later sliced the margin to 98-97 with 49.2 seconds to go. Thornton then stepped to the charity stripe and made both free throws, then Foye missed a short shot at the other end. DeMarcus Cousins, who was 3-of-10 from the foul line on the night, made 1-of-2 for a four-point margin.

Williams misfired on a long three, and Thornton connected on four foul shots in the final 17-plus seconds to seal the win. The Clippers made just 30 percent of their shots in the final period, and Thornton scored 16 of his 29 points in the final 12 minutes.

"They picked up the intensity and their crowd got into it," Griffin said of the Kings in the fourth quarter. "We have to do a better job of matching that intensity."

Sacramento staked itself to an early 9-4 lead, but the Clippers slowly worked their way back into a 29-29 stalemate after one period. The Kings held a 47-40 lead with just under four minutes to go in the first half, but the Clippers finished with a 12-4 flurry capped by Griffin's tip-in with under a second left for a 52-51 Los Angeles lead.

The Clippers led by as many as nine in the third quarter and closed with an 83-78 lead. Griffin had nine points in the quarter, as the Clippers made a scorching 13-of-19 from the floor.

Game Notes

The Kings made 47.5 percent of their shots to 45.7 for the Clippers...The tight contest featured nine ties and 18 lead changes...Chris Kaman finished with 12 points for the Clippers...Williams played his first game as a Clipper, making 7-of-18 shots in nearly 36 minutes...Thornton was playing his third game as a member of the Kings.