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 Damien Wilkins pulled the Sonics even at 101-all, hitting a challenged 3-pointer over John Salmons with 6.1 seconds left. Choosing not to use their last timeout, Martin raced into the frontcourt, dribbling through most of the Seattle defense and into the deep corner. He leaned under the outstretched arm of Wilkins and nailed the shot, sending the Kings bench racing toward him at the other end of the court.
Officials reviewed the call to make sure the ball left Martin's hand before the buzzer, and the Sonics remained on the court, hopeful of getting a chance at overtime and snapping their skid. But it was clear Martin got the shot off in time, concluding a frantic final few minutes.
Martin finished with 26 points, one of seven Kings in double figures. He appeared to give the Kings the lead for good with an improbable tip-in with 17 seconds left, but Sacramento needed Martin's heroics at the end.
Kevin Durant led Seattle with 19 points, but missed 15 of his 20 shots, and Wally Szczerbiak added 16. Seattle has yet to win in 2008 and didn't help its cause by missing 10 free throw attempts.
While Seattle's woeful losing streak continued, the Kings snapped a skid of their own, beating a Western Conference team on the road for the first time this season.
Martin's tip-gave Sacramento a 101-96 lead. After Martin's leaner was blocked out of bounds with 1 second left on the shot clock, Ron Artest lobbed a pass to the middle of the key that Martin tipped over the front of the rim while falling backward and being face guarded by Kurt Thomas.
Durant scored for Seattle, then fouled Martin, who made just one of the two free throws. Wilkins answered with his 3-pointer, setting the stage for Martin's game-winner.
Brad Miller and Mike Bibby both added 13 for Sacramento, which concluded a stretch with six of seven on the road. The Kings now play their next five at home.
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Seattle took its first lead of the night at 77-76 on Szczerbiak's leaner in the lane with 10:36 left. Francisco Garcia quickly retook the lead with a deep jumper, Beno Udrih added 3-pointer and two free throws by Artest capped a quick 7-0 Kings run.
Durant's free throw pulled Seattle even again at 91-all, but Artest rattled in an 8-foot fallaway and after a Seattle turnover, Martin hit a 3-pointer late in the shot clock to put the Kings up 96-91 with 1:49 left. Bibby added another jumper and the lead was seven.
But Earl Watson hit just the Sonics' third 3-pointer of the night and two free throws by Thomas with 43 seconds left got Seattle back within 98-96.
Thomas finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle and Wilcox added 11 points.
Now, the question is when will Seattle finally end its streak. The Sonics have four more games on their current homestand: San Antonio, Cleveland, New York and Chicago. Miami had the longest losing streak in the NBA this season at 15 games.
Notes: Kings F Kenny Thomas was a late addition to the inactive list for the second straight game. His name was initially listed as active, but was later crossed out. ... Kings rookie C Spencer Hawes played his first game in his hometown. Hawes only had to buy about 10 tickets, but his family purchased a suite for friends and family. Hawes checked in to start the second quarter, played 4:46 minutes and scored four points.
[Associated Press; By TIM BOOTH]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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