End of the road

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Bonzi Wells scored 23 points and Kenny Thomas had 17 points and a season-high 18 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings headed for the postseason with their ninth victory in 11 games, 111-105 over the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday night.
Mike Bibby scored 21 points and matched his season high with six 3-pointers for the Kings (44-38), who will be the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs if the Los Angeles Lakers (44-37) lose to the New Orleans Hornets tonight.
If the Lakers win, Sacramento will open its eighth consecutive playoff trip in San Antonio this weekend against the defending NBA champion Spurs.
Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored eight points apiece in the fourth as Sacramento made an 18-5 run in the final minutes, rallying from a small deficit with 8 minutes to play for a comfortable win.
But nothing is easy for this club: With 3 minutes to play during the Kings’ decisive run, Abdur-Rahim and Thomas got into an animated argument on the way to the bench for a timeout. Teammate Corliss Williamson eventually separated them, and both stayed in the game.
Sacramento took three of four this season from the Sonics, who lost for the fourth time in five games in their first outing since the club announced coach Bob Hill will be back next season.
Ray Allen scored 26 points and Nick Collison matched his career high with 20 for the SuperSonics, who eliminated Sacramento from the playoffs in last season’s first round. Seattle will finish its third losing season in four years at home against Denver tonight.
Rashard Lewis scored 20 points and Luke Ridnour had 14 points and a career-high 15 assists, but both were held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Collison scored 12 points in the third quarter, and Seattle had nine consecutive points while taking the lead.
Ridnour surpassed his previous career high in assists midway through the third – but Sacramento turned up its defense in the fourth, with Ron Artest shutting down Lewis as Seattle managed just 16 points.
Thomas scored six big points in the final 3:16 – and his deflection, steal and breakaway dunk with 1:59 left sealed the win.
Artest scored just three points – his lowest total since joining the Kings at midseason – on 1-of-11 shooting, but matched his season high with eight assists.
The Kings clinched their eighth consecutive playoff berth shortly before beating New Orleans on Sunday night.
Sacramento finished 27-14 at home – its worst record at Arco Arena in coach Rick Adelman’s eight seasons with the club – despite winning 18 of their final 21 home games.
Kings 111, Sonics 105
FG | FT | Reb | |||||
SEATTLE | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
RasLewis | 35:13 | 8-14 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
Wilcox | 29:10 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 3-10 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Petro | 13:00 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Allen | 41:37 | 9-20 | 4-6 | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 26 |
Ridnour | 34:13 | 5-9 | 2-2 | 0-4 | 15 | 0 | 14 |
Collison | 32:14 | 8-13 | 4-6 | 5-11 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
Watson | 20:10 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
Moore | 21:36 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Wilkins | 12:47 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Totals | 240:00 | 41-80 | 13-20 | 11-39 | 25 | 21 | 105 |
Percentages: FG .512, FT .650. 3-Point Goals: 10-22, .455 (Allen 4-11, Ras.Lewis 3-6, Ridnour 2-3, Watson 1-2). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 18 (21 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Collison 2, Moore, Petro). Turnovers: 17 (Ridnour 5, Allen 3, Watson 3, Collison 2, Wilcox 2, Ras.Lewis, Wilkins). Steals: 7 (Wilcox 3, Allen 2, Ras.Lewis, Watson). Technical Fouls: None.
FG | FT | Reb | |||||
SACRAMENTO | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
Artest | 35:05 | 1-11 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
Thomas | 41:47 | 6-8 | 5-9 | 8-18 | 7 | 2 | 17 |
Miller | 23:37 | 6-12 | 1-2 | 1-7 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
Wells | 37:07 | 8-16 | 7-9 | 6-9 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
Bibby | 32:43 | 7-17 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 21 |
Abdur-Rahim | 30:36 | 6-15 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
Martin | 18:53 | 7-9 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
Hart | 15:17 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Garcia | 4:55 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 240:00 | 43-92 | 17-27 | 18-45 | 26 | 15 | 111 |
Percentages: FG .467, FT .630. 3-Point Goals: 8-24, .333 (Bibby 6-12, Martin 1-3, Artest 1-5, Abdur-Rahim 0-1, Garcia 0-1, Miller 0-2). Team Rebounds: 16. Team Turnovers: 13 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bibby, Garcia, Wells). Turnovers: 11 (Artest 3, Bibby 3, Abdur-Rahim 2, Wells 2, Miller). Steals: 12 (Bibby 3, Thomas 3, Martin 2, Wells 2, Abdur-Rahim, Hart). Technical Fouls: None.
Seattle | 21 | 33 | 35 | 16 – 105 |
Sacramento | 28 | 32 | 26 | 25 – 111 |
A – 17,317 (17,317). T – 2:08.