NBA Game Summary - Philadelphia at Sacramento

Sacramento, CA (Basketball News) - Cuttino Mobley scored a team-high 30 points as the Sacramento Kings welcomed traded All-Star forward Chris Webber back to ARCO Arena with a 118-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mobley went 12-of-21 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point distance, for Sacramento, which has won nine straight meetings against the Sixers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Perhaps more importantly, both teams are battling for positioning in the playoffs. The 76ers fell one game behind the Indiana Pacers for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference standings, while Sacramento remained a 1/2 game ahead of the Houston Rockets for the fifth seed in the West.

Peja Stojakovic netted 26 points and Mike Bibby had 18 for the Kings. Traded for Webber, Kenny Thomas finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Brian Skinner collected 13 points and a game-high 19 boards in the win for Sacramento, which improved to 10-8 since the deal.

Leading Philadelphia, which acquired Webber on February 24th in a six-player trade, was Allen Iverson with 34 points on 14-of-31 shooting to go along with eight assists.

The 31-year-old Webber, who had been with Sacramento since 1998, finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Sixers fell to 9-6 with him in the lineup.

Samuel Dalembert recorded 16 points, 16 boards and five blocked shots for the Sixers, who have won five of their last seven overall.

This game was a back-and-forth, up-and-down affair with the teams making runs at each other, but neither able to land the knockout blow until a 9-0 run by Sacramento in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Kings held a two point edge, 82-80, heading into the final 12 minutes and it remained that way as the teams traded baskets in the opening moments of the final frame. However, a Thomas tip-in followed by back-to-back three-pointers by Mobley and Bibby gave the Kings a 95-87 advantage with a little more than eight minutes to play.

The Sixers would pull to within five, but Sacramento got another three-pointer from Mobley, two free throws from Thomas, a basket by Skinner and a dunk from Mobley, staking the Kings to a double-digit advantage, and Philly never threatened again.

The Kings connected on 11-of-15 three-point attempts (73 percent), won the rebounding battle 51-46 and forced 17 turnovers.

Trailing by four, 58-54, at the half, Philadelphia came out of the break on a 10-4 burst to take a 64-62 lead. The Kings answered with a 9-2 run to reclaim the advantage, 71-66, midway through the third quarter, which ended with Sacramento ahead, 82-80.

Sacramento held a 31-25 lead after the first quarter before Philadelphia trimmed the deficit to four, 58-54, at halftime.

Game notes

The Sixers acquired Webber and forwards Michael Bradley and Matt Barnes in exchange for forwards Thomas, Skinner and Corliss Williamson...This was the second and final meeting of the season, with the Kings taking both games...Philadelphia is 1-1 on its current three-game road trip with a visit to Phoenix looming Wednesday...Webber, who had played in 14 games as a Sixer coming into Monday’s action, was averaging 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in a Philadelphia uniform...The Kings are 4-2 in their last six outings...Sacramento improved to 27-10 at ARCO this season and are 8-3 in its last 11 home games...Iverson was named an NBA Player of the Week on Monday, joining Seattle’s Ray Allen.