INDIANAPOLIS —Mike Bibby showed the Indiana Pacers that the West is still the best.
Bibby hit a jumper from just inside the 3-point arc with 1.2 seconds left to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 94-92 victory over Indiana on Friday night in a matchup of NBA conference leaders.
Jermaine O'Neal hit two free throws to tie it at 92 with 24.7 seconds left. Chris Webber committed his sixth foul on the play, but Bibby made sure the Kings didn't endure their first three-game losing streak in more than a year.
"I just wanted to make something happen," Bibby said.
He certainly did.
Bibby dribbled the length of the floor, shook Jamaal Tinsley and came off a screen to knock down the game winner.
Bibby scored 25 points and Chris Webber added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings (50-19), who overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to move within one game of the Pacers (50-18) in the race for league's best record and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
O'Neal had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who were playing without second-leading scorer Ron Artest, who was suspended by the NBA for elbowing Portland's Derek Anderson in Wednesday's game.
"Certainly his absence isn't the reason we lost," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
Sacramento outscored Indiana 24-14 in the third and then came up with all the big plays to bounce back from two ugly losses to New Jersey and Washington. "We've done that all year — lose big leads," said Jeff Foster, who had 10 points and 12 rebounds. "We should be able to win and enjoy these games, but we're not."
Bender finished with 15 points, but missed most of the second half with a right shoulder injury. His status for Saturday's game at Memphis was not immediately known.
KNICKS 79, NETS 65: At New York, Stephon Marbury had seven of his nine assists in the first quarter, and finished with 21 points to help New York snap a five-game losing streak against its cross-river rival. The Nets played without stars Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin. Kidd (bone bruise, left knee) went on the injured list earlier in the day and Martin (knee tendinitis) also sat out. Tim Thomas added 16 points for New York. Richard Jefferson scored 25 points for New Jersey.
BULLS 96, RAPTORS 91: At Toronto, Eddy Curry had a season-high 28 points to help Chicago snap a seven-game losing streak. Kirk Hinrich added 21 points and 13 assists, and Antonio Davis had 18 points and 14 rebounds against his former team. Davis and Jerome Williams returned to Toronto for the first time since they were traded for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall on Dec. 1. Rose had 24 points, and Vince Carter led Toronto with 30.
MAVERICKS 120, CELTICS 104: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points and Antoine Walker added 21 points and nine rebounds against his former team to help the Mavericks beat Boston. Josh Howard had a season-high 19 points and Antawn Jamison added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks. Dallas is 30-5 at home, matching Sacramento for the NBA's best home record. Mark Blount had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
PISTONS 94, NUGGETS 75: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points and surpassed the 10,000-point mark in his career to lead Detroit to its seventh straight victory. Richard Hamilton added 20 for the Pistons, 11-3 since trading for Wallace on Feb. 19. Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points, but had just four points in the second half.
SUPERSONICS 91, HORNETS 80: At New Orleans, Rashard Lewis scored 31 points and Ray Allen had 19 to lead streaking Seattle. Vitaly Potapenko added 14 points and 10 rebounds to help Seattle run its winning streak to four games, all on the road. Baron Davis led New Orleans with 25 points.
WIZARDS 94, HAWKS 84: At Washington, Kwame Brown scored 27 points and Gilbert Arenas had his third triple-double of the season for Washington. Brown was 10-of-14 from the field, and also had 11 rebounds. Arenas finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Stephen Jackson led the Hawks with 17 points.
TIMBERWOLVES 93, SUNS 80: At Phoenix, Latrell Sprewell scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead Minnesota. Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 20 rebounds for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season, and Wally Szczerbiak led Minnesota with 24 points. Shawn Marion had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns.
LAKERS 106, CLIPPERS 100: At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 27 points in the last four minutes to help the Lakers beat the Clippers. The win was the fourth straight and eighth in 10 games for the Lakers (46-23), who trail Sacramento by four games with 13 left. Shaquille O'Neal added 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists; Gary Payton scored 16 points; Karl Malone had 14, and Rick Fox 10 for the Lakers.
WARRIORS 90, ROCKETS 84: At Oakland, rookie Mickael Pietrus scored a career-high 20 points, leading Golden State to its third straight win. Troy Murphy added 16 points to help the Warriors end a 15-game home losing streak against the Rockets. Cuttino Mobley led Houston with 25 points.