Bibby and Thomas lead Sacramento past Boston

The Kings recorded their second straight win despite missing two of their top players in injured forwards Peja Stojakovic and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. However, Thomas, who was averaging under six points coming in, and second-year guard Kevin Martin both stepped up to help offset the losses.

Martin contributed a career-best 22 points and Brad Miller had 20 along with 10 rebounds.

Ricky Davis poured in 33 points and Paul Pierce scored 22 with nine assists for the Celtics, who fell to 0-3 on their current five-game road swing.

Boston held a 90-87 lead after a Davis layup early in the fourth quarter, but the Kings countered with a 10-2 burst which put them ahead to stay.

Bibby had Sacramento’s last six points of the run and sent his team up 97-92 when he knocked down a jumper with 6:47 to go.

The Celtics got to within three points on a pair of occasions afterward, and trailed 109-105 with one minute left. Thomas then hit an outside shot with 41 seconds left, and after Pierce misfired a three-point try, Martin threw down a dunk off an inbounds play with 26 seconds on the clock to give the Kings an eight-point cushion.

Sacramento opened up a double-digit lead in the second quarter on the strength of a 7-0 run near the midway point of the period. A Bibby three-pointer ended the surge and put the Kings up comfortably at 41-29.

Boston cut the deficit to five on two Marcus Banks free throws with 2:10 remaining before intermission, but the Kings closed out the half with a 7-2 spurt, beginning with another Bibby trey and capped by Thomas’ bucket with 10 seconds left, to take a 59-49 advantage into the break.

Sacramento lead by as many as 15 points early in the second half, as Bibby buried a three-pointer just over three minutes in to extend the margin to 71-56. However, the Celtics rallied towards the end of the third quarter to make it a game.

Down 81-70 midway through the period, Boston reeled off 12 straight points and grabbed a one-point edge after Raef LaFrentz sank a jumper from beyond the arc with 1:51 left. The Kings held a slim 87-86 lead heading into the fourth quarter after Corliss Williamson’s layup in the closing seconds of the third.

Game Notes

Stojakovic sat out for the third time in four games because of a strained right groin, while Abdur-Rahim is sidelined indefinitely with a broken jaw...Boston has lost 10 straight in Sacramento and hasn’t won there since February 16, 1996...The Celtics fell to 2-11 on the road this season...Martin set his previous career-best of 20 points Tuesday against the Clippers...The Kings have won four straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings between the clubs.