Udrih leads Kings past Clippers

Beno Udrih had a career-high 30 points and seven assists, and the short-handed Sacramento Kings never trailed in beating the Los Angeles Clippers 103-98 Wednesday night for their fourth win in five games.

Brad Miller added 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, rookie Jason Thompson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and John Salmons scored 13 for the Kings (4-5), who started the season with four straight losses on the road, losing by an average of 20 points. They followed that with three wins in four home games before beating the Clippers.

Al Thornton led the Clippers (1-7) with 20 points. Ricky Davis scored 12 of his 16 in the fourth quarter, Marcus Camby added 13 points and Baron Davis had 12 points and 11 assists, but shot 4-of-15.

Sacramento played its second game without Kevin Martin, who is out at least a week after spraining his left ankle in a victory over Golden State on Sunday. Martin leads the Kings with 22.4 points per game.

The Kings also played without Quincy Douby (sore right ankle) and Francisco Garcia (strained right calf). Garcia, who averaged 12.3 points in 2007-08, hasn't played this season.

Two 3-pointers by Ricky Davis and another by rookie Mike Taylor helped the Clippers outscore Sacramento 11-4 to start the fourth quarter, cutting the Kings' lead to 85-80.

It was 89-84 when a basket by Udrih and four straight points by Mikki Moore gave Sacramento an 11-point lead with 4:48 remaining. But the Clippers battled back again, getting two 3-pointers from Ricky Davis during a 13-4 run that made it 99-97 with 1:52 remaining.

It was 100-98 when Udrih made a baseline jumper with 1:03 left, just as the shot clock was expiring, to give the Kings a four-point lead. The Clippers wouldn't score again.

The Kings scored the first six points of the third quarter for a 56-45 lead, and they were on top 81-69 entering the final period, matching their largest lead of the game.

Two straight baskets by Bobby Jackson gave the Kings a 34-24 lead early in the second quarter. It was 41-32 when Tim Thomas scored five points during an 11-2 run that tied the game. The Kings responded with seven straight points before a basket by Ricky Davis trimmed Sacramento's lead to 50-45 at halftime.

Udrih scored 10 points and the Kings shot 13-of-22 (59 percent) in taking a 27-20 first-quarter lead despite failing to attempt a foul shot while the Clippers went 9-of-11. Los Angeles shot 5-of-12 from the floor in the opening period.

Notes:@ The Kings didn't try a free throw until Udrih made two with 6:18 left in the second quarter — their only attempts in the first half. The Clippers were 11-of-15 from the foul line in the opening 24 minutes. The Kings wound up going 14-of-18 and the Clippers 20-of-27. ... The Kings are the first team the Clippers have played that didn't make the playoffs last spring. ... Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy refuted a report that he has differences with Baron Davis, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract during the offseason. "I didn't know we weren't on the same page," the coach said. "We want to run every possession. Let's put that misnomer to bed." A local columnist wrote that Davis "has winced at parts of Dunleavy's rigid system and is openly worrying that the thick playbook weighs heavily on the freelance ability that has made him one of the league's best guards."