Kings crown Trail Blazers

Mar 4, 2007, 6:10 GMT

Portland, OR - Kevin Martin scored 33 points and Ron Artest added 23 with nine rebounds to pace Sacramento to a 104-96 win over the Trail Blazers.

Mike Bibby scored 13 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 10 for the Kings, who have won three in a row, including a road win over the Lakers Friday night.

Sacramento continues to chase for the eighth playoff spot the Western Conference. The Kings are currently two games behind that position.

'Right now we're in a situation where we have to scratch and claw to get into the eighth spot,' Artest said. 'We're just figuring it out right now. This was a must win for us.'

Zach Randolph had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who lost for the third time in four contests. Brandon Roy ended with 15 points and seven assists, Martell Webster scored 14 and Jarrett Jack 13 in a losing cause.

'We didn't bring it tonight; we were sluggish,' Roy said. 'It's important for us to get going early in a game. It's disappointing.'

For a second straight night, the Kings didn't trail. They scored the first four against the Blazers, a Martin reverse layup and a Bibby jumper. It was 33-25 after 12 minutes.

Consecutive baskets by Francisco Garcia moved the visitors to a 43-33 advantage and it was 57-51 at the break.

Although the Blazers stayed within double digits most of the third, they still trailed 82-74 going into the fourth.

Roy's two free throws had Portland within 82-78, but the Kings responded with a 10-2 spurt with Martin's jumper ending the rally.

Portland crawled within five, the last time at 98-93 on Roy's three-pointer with 1:16 left, but Artest came back with a turnaround jumper and added another bucket for a 102-93 margin.

Game Notes

Sacramento was 5-of-20 from three-point range...Ime Udoka had 10 points and LaMarcus Aldridge 10 boards for Portland.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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