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Coming through Kidd's triple-double keeps new coach undefeated
Posted: Sunday December 19, 1999 01:32 AM
PHOENIX (AP) -- What a week for the Phoenix Suns. A stunning coaching change, a star player suffers a seizure on the team bus after a big victory in Portland, and Jason Kidd pulls off triple-doubles on consecutive nights. No wonder new coach Scott Skiles seemed amazed after the Suns beat the Sacramento Kings 119-103 Saturday night. Skiles thought back to 24 hours earlier, as the players watched through the windows of their team bus as paramedics tried to revive Tom Gugliotta. "It was very, very scary," Skiles said. "I don't know what else these guys could have gone through this week. It's amazing that they could come out here tonight and play like this. That's as gutsy a win as I've seen in a long time." Kidd had 27 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds, along with four steals, one night after getting 32 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds in the Suns' 110-102 victory at Portland. "Jason Kidd was just unreal," Skiles said. "He's doing it all right now." Cliff Robinson scored a season-high 33 points for the Suns, who are 3-0 since Danny Ainge resigned as coach and Skiles replaced him. Rex Chapman added 16, while Rodney Rogers had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kidd's triple-double was the 28th of his career, tying him with Michael Jordan for sixth in NBA history. The Suns are 15-0 in games in which he has had a triple-double. It was the first time Kidd has had triple-doubles on consecutive nights. The last one to do it in the NBA was Grant Hill on April 13 and 14, 1997, against Chicago and Orlando. "Jason Kidd is the best point guard in the league right now, no question about it," Sacramento's Vlade Divac said.
Jason Williams had 22 points, Divac 21 and Corliss Williamson 20 for the Kings, who have lost four out of five. Sacramento played the second half without Chris Webber, who left with a strained neck with 1:04 left in the second quarter. Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said he didn't know how long Webber could be out. The Suns, already without Penny Hardaway, Luc Longley and Shawn Marion because of injuries, had to do without Gugliotta, leaving them with just nine players. The Kings trailed by as many as 28 in the first half but battled back from a 27-point halftime deficit despite the absence of Webber. Sacramento used a 21-6 run to cut it to 82-76 on Scot Pollard's inside basket with 1:40 left in the third quarter. Kidd followed with a short jumper, then Rodney Rogers stuffed it on a lob from Kidd to help the Suns take an 87-78 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Kings cut it to 87-81 on Tony Delk's basket with 10:02 to play. Then the Suns pulled away with a 9-0 run, going up 96-81 on Chapman's three-point play with 8:54 to go. "It's too hard to come back. They had us down so far," Adelman said. "They were really good in the first half. We got impatient and kind of fed their fast break. In the second half, we competed, we competed for loose balls and we got after them a little bit and we got some guys on track, but it's too far. It's 27 points down. That's pretty far down." Kidd was one rebound short of a triple-double in the first half with 14 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as Phoenix blew open a 67-40 lead. After Sacramento went ahead 26-19 early, the Suns outscored the Kings 48-14 the rest of the half. Robinson's fast-break basket capped a 26-2 outburst that put Phoenix up 45-28 with 8:30 left in the half. Kidd's three-point play on a finger-roll layup in traffic gave the Suns their biggest lead of the half at 67-39. Sacramento was 3-for-21 in the second quarter. The Suns made nine of 18 3-pointers in the first half, with Robinson going 3-for-6, Todd Day 3-for-4 and Chapman 2-for-4.
Notes: Gugliotta returned to Phoenix from Portland, Ore., Saturday night after initial tests showed nothing abnormal. ... Hardaway believes he could be back in a week. He's missed seven games with a sore left foot. ... Kidd also had consecutive triple-doubles last season, on Feb. 22 against Dallas and Feb. 25 at Vancouver. ... Webber was 3-for-11 from the field for six points and grabbed 10 rebounds before he was injured. ... After starting the season 9-1, Sacramento has gone 5-7 ... Williams had seven turnovers in the first half, Kidd had one. ... Skiles hired ex-Suns coach John MacLeod as his top assistant.
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