Kings 108, Jazz 95

By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) From the top of the 3-point arc, Peja Stojakovic calmly swished a jumper. Then he did the same from the right side, just a step or so inside the line.

He scored nine straight points for Sacramento during one stretch.

With Chris Webber forced out of the game with a strained back, Stojakovic had to give the Kings a better performance in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series against Utah than he did in the opener two days earlier.

Stojakovic scored 29 points and the Pacific Division champions left no questions in how they handled their homecourt this time, cruising to a 108-95 victory over the Jazz on Monday night.

Someone hinted to Stojakovic that it seemed everything he threw up was going to go in.

``Did I look like that?'' he asked, smiling. ``I just felt good.''

For the first time since the franchise moved to Sacramento, the Kings took a 2-0 lead in a playoff series. Game 3 is Saturday in Salt Lake City.

``We finally did it. We finally won the games we were supposed to,'' said forward Scot Pollard, who had eight points and six rebounds. ``We're stepping on them right now. We want to squish them. We want to step on them and squish them so they get no breath.''

In Monday's other games, San Antonio, the top seed in the West, beat Phoenix 84-76 to tie their series. Indiana, which also lost its series opener at home, got even with Boston with an 89-77 victory.

On Tuesday night, Milwaukee is at New Jersey and the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are at Minnesota. The Nets and Lakers won their series openers.

Stojakovic's playoff performance last spring was something to forget. After playing poorly against the Jazz, he severely sprained his left ankle in the conference semifinals against Dallas.

He missed six games and struggled when he returned, most notably airballing a 3-pointer in the final minute of Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. He shot 38 percent from the field and 27 percent from long range in the 2002 postseason, not his kind of numbers.

Stojakovic, Sacramento's second-leading scorer, had 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting with five rebounds, an assist and a steal in Game 1. Two nights later, he buried shots whenever the lackluster Jazz came remotely close to threatening.

``I wasn't happy with my game,'' Stojakovic said. ``I was rushing shots and trying to do too much every time I touched the ball. Tonight, I felt more comfortable and I got hot.''

Vlade Divac had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Bobby Jackson had 15 points and six assists for the Kings, who handed the seventh-seeded Jazz their fourth straight playoff defeat.

``They made it look like a playoff game,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. ``We made it look like the end of a seven-game road trip. We looked like a tired team playing against a team that wants to go further into the playoffs.''

Karl Malone scored 15 points for the Jazz, who have four days off before Saturday's game at the Delta Center, where Sacramento has won eight straight. Game 4 is Monday.

Webber had eight points when he came down awkwardly while battling Greg Ostertag for a rebound in the opening minute of the second quarter. Webber fouled Ostertag and immediately limped to the locker room. Coach Rick Adelman said the injury ``isn't very serious,'' but Webber might have a precautionary MRI exam Tuesday.

Andrei Kirilenko had another strong game for the Jazz, scoring 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. But the Jazz couldn't overcome a 25-point deficit. Matt Harpring had 14 points, while John Stockton was held to eight points and two assists in 21 minutes.

``It was kind of one of those games when we were just watching,'' Stockton said.

The Jazz played without reserve guard DeShawn Stevenson, who was sent home after getting into an argument with Sloan at Sunday's practice.

Stevenson, who has griped about playing time this season, played just one minute in Game 1. He might be finished with the Jazz, who drafted him out of high school three years ago.< ^Spurs 84, Suns 76=

At San Antonio, the Spurs evened the series by making some key free throws. They missed six out of eight in overtime in Game 1, giving Stephon Marbury a chance to his a buzzer-beating 3-point bank shot to win it.

Not this time. Tim Duncan scored half of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as he helped San Antonio come back from a seven-point deficit in the period.

``We wanted the split and we got it,'' said Marbury, who had 32 points and 10 rebounds. ``We have the home-court advantage.''< ^Pacers 89, Celtics 77=

At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal scored 23 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and Reggie Miller hit a big 3-pointer to clinch it.

Ron Artest played 47 minutes and held Paul Pierce to 14 points. Pierce scored 40 in the opener, including 21-for-21 on free throws.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)