In the best finish of the season, Nate Archibald hit a jumper at the buzzer to cap a fourth-quarter comeback and give the Sacramento Kings a 123-122 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Mitch Richmond (32 points) and Peja Stojakovic (28 points) had big games for the Kings, who improved to 16-8 with five games to play. Devin Booker (22 points) led six Suns players in double-figures, and Steve Nash had 15 points and 10 assists.
The refs were busy in this one. The Kings committed 29 fouls and the Suns had 27. Phoenix went 29-for-31 from the foul line, while Sacramento went 27-for-33. Numerous players ended the game in foul trouble, though only two, DeMarcus Cousins for the Kings and Nash for the Suns, fouled out. Richmond was a big beneficiary as he went 13-for-16 from the foul line.
The Kings got off to a good start and led 12-4 after a Mike Bibby three-pointer. They led for nearly the entirety of the first quarter, and it was 32-30 after a high-scoring period.
Shawn Marion began the second quarter with a three-pointer to give the Suns their first lead, and it grew to eight at 47-39 after Amare Stoudamire scored twice in a 6-0 run. The Kings closed the gap and there were eight lead changes later on in the quarter. The Suns had the last one and they led 66-62 at halftime.
The Suns went back up by eight at 74-66, though the Kings got the deficit down to one point at 78-77. Phoenix ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run to go up 90-81, at the time the largest lead of the game for either team. The Kings managed just 19 points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Suns shot 53% from the field, made three of four three-pointers and all nine of their free throws — and still lost. The Kings bounced back with a 42-point quarter, 10 better than Phoenix. They did so even though the Suns extended their lead to 15 points at 99-84 after back-to-back three-pointers by Booker with 10 minutes to go. The Kings chipped away at the lead and eventually went ahead 109-108 with four minutes left after a basket by Chris Webber. Neither team could get a stop the next couple of minutes, and there were seven lead changes in seven possessions.
With 42 seconds left, the Suns’ Kevin Johnson made two free throws to put Phoenix ahead 122-120. At the other end, Webber could only make one of two free throws with 29 seconds left. The Suns worked down the clock, and the Kings got the defensive stop they needed with when Johnson missed a jumper with seven seconds left.
After a timeout, the Kings got the ball to Domantas Sabonis in the post. With the defense collapsing on him, he found an open Archibald on the baseline, and he hit a 15-footer at the buzzer to give the Kings the victory.
Next up: the Portland Trail Blazers.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 