Bibby's play earns praise from Kings coach

From Sacramento's side, the credit for the Kings' 98-97 win over the Jazz on Friday night goes to point guard Mike Bibby.

"He didn't settle tonight," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "He went to the basket hard, a lot. He got back to rebounding the ball for us, too, from the point guard position.

"I give Mike a lot of credit, for sinking back in the lane, and not only scoring those big baskets down the stretch, but also his rebounds."

Bibby had eight boards to go with his 19 points — two rebounds and four points more than counterpart Deron Williams.

Bibby's reaction to a question about his 8-for-18 shooting from the field?

"You act like I never hit shots before," he said. "I can shoot a little bit, I think."

Last time the Jazz played the Kings, and won, Bibby went out with an injury.

TIMELY REASON: Jazz guard Derek Fisher explained Friday why he shot a trey try rather than stepping in for a shorter shot when he put up his failed jumper with time winding down and Utah down just one point to the Kings.

"In some situations I would have probably pump-faked, because I knew (Sacramento guard Kevin Martin) was gonna jump," Fisher said, "but we had just gotten a 3-seconds earlier in the quarter when I pump-faked and tried to go in."

HAVE A BALL: Jazz owner Larry H. Miller presented coach Jerry Sloan with the ball from Monday's win over Dallas — Sloan's 1,000th NBA coaching victory — in a short ceremony prior to Friday's game.

Sloan was in such a hurry to get the festivities over with and start the game that he almost fumbled Miller's pass.

MILLER SPEAKS: Speaking of Miller, the Jazz owner said during his weekly radio appearance on AM-1280 that NBA commissioner David Stern planned to talk with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, to chastise Cuban for sitting behind the Mavs' bench during last Monday's game.

That apparently is a no-no according to Stern's and the league's new behavior rules for NBA owners.

Miller also said he questioned Stern during a recent phone conversation as to why the commissioner agreed to players union demands that the league switch from its newly introduced microfiber ball back to the traditional leather ball traditionally used in the NBA.