Bibby leads Kings past Pacers

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.