Thomas, Kings down Cavaliers

Mike Bibby scored 16 points and dished out 12 assists for the Kings, who won for the eighth time in their last 11 games. Brad Miller added 15 points and nine boards. Four other players scored 11 for Sacramento.

LeBron James, Ronald Murray and Zydrunas Ilgauskas each scored 19 for the Cavaliers, who lost their fifth straight game and third in a row at home. Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao each tallied eight.

Trailing by two with 8:37 left to play in the game, the Kings went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 90-84 lead. Miller led the way for Sacramento, scoring half of his team’s points during the spurt.

Cleveland got within two, 90-88, after layups from Murray and Varejao, but Bibby then drained a trey and set Miller up for a jumper that effectively ended the game with 36 seconds left to play.

Cleveland grabbed momentum early in the game, going on a 20-2 run in the first quarter en route to an 11 point lead, 29-18, at the end of the period. James scored nine of his 19 points in the quarter.

The Cavs lead by as many as 14 points in the second stanza until the Kings rolled off a 9-0 run to the cut the deficit down to five with 7:27 left before the break. Francisco Garcia drained a trey to ignite the run.

Sacramento got to within two points before James converted a layup right before time expired to give Cleveland the lead at halftime, 47-43.

In the third, the Cavs had no answer for the Kings’ offense. Sacramento drove through the lane at will, outscoring Cleveland 35-26, to take the lead heading into the fourth, 78-73.

Cleveland shot a respectable 45.6 percent from the field, but struggled from three-point territory, shooting just 26.7 percent.

Sacramento shot 50.7 percent from the field, and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Game Notes

Garcia sprained his ankle with 9:10 left to play in the fourth and did not return...All seven players who participated for Sacramento in the game scored in double figures...The Kings improved to 9-6 since acquiring Ron Artest from Indiana...Cleveland has now lost five straight home games against Sacramento.