Gordon three-pointers sink Kings in thriller

SACRAMENTO, California (AP):

The final two seconds were hectic but not costly for the Los Angeles Clippers, who started their season miserably, but are now finding ways to win games even when they do not play well.

Eric Gordon tied a career high with six three-pointers and scored 31 points as the Clippers escaped with a 100-99 victory on Monday night over the struggling Sacramento Kings, who missed the potential game-winner at the buzzer.

It was not a thing of beauty for the Clippers, who committed 22 turnovers and squandered a nine-point lead late in the game. But they came away with another win, their second straight and fifth in six games. So no one was too upset afterward by the mistakes, the type that cost the Clippers when they opened the season by losing 13 of 14 games.

"We would have lost this game earlier in the year," admitted Gordon, who made his first six three-pointers before finally misfiring in the fourth quarter.

An ill-advised foul by Ryan Gomes on a three-point attempt by Tyreke Evans was the biggest blunder of the game for the Clippers. Evans went to the line with 1.9 seconds left and made the first two, but the third attempt went in and out.

Rookie DeMarcus Cousins missed a tipped shot and the loose ball eventually wound up back in Evans' hands, but he misfired on an open nine-footer in the lane with 0.3 seconds left.

"I thought I wasn't going to get it off, so I kind of rushed it," Evans said.

"I probably should have taken my time. I was just trying to get the ball up and try to make it go in."

It was a mistake the Clippers seemingly could not overcome early in the season, leading to losses. This time it did not.

Fortunate at the end

"You don't want to give them three (free throw) shots there, we didn't execute the way we wanted to," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We were fortunate at the end, but we'll take it. We're finding ways to win. You've got to learn how to win games like that in this league."

Blake Griffin had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won three straight on the road after opening the season 0-11. Baron Davis had 11 points and nine assists and Al-Farouq Aminu also had 11 points.

"Teams like that are scrapping for a win, we obviously know the feeling," Griffin said. "Give the Kings credit for the way they played. We had a tough time stopping Evans tonight."

Evans scored a season-high 32 points in easily his most productive game thus far. The reigning Rookie of the Year has struggled for much of his second season.

In his previous two games, he had missed 25-of-31 shots and scored 19 total points. But even a rejuvenated Evans couldn't rescue the Kings from another defeat.

Sacramento have dropped eight straight, 22 of 24 and owns the NBA's worst record (5-23).

"I felt good out there," Evans said. "I'm just trying to put it in the past and trying to not think about anything. I've been playing terrible this year."

Omri Casspi had 16 points, Beno Udrih 14, Carl Landry 13 and Francisco Garcia 12 for the Kings.

Evans lost the ball on a drive to the basket with the Kings down 98-97. Davis came up with the loose ball and passed to Griffin, who made an easy, uncontested dunk for a three-point lead with 5.1 seconds remaining. But the drama was far from over.

"A lot of times we're still getting antsy late in games; we're too hyped up and not executing like we should," Davis said. "We need to figure out things that we need to do down the stretch and win these games. But we kept fighting tonight, we didn't let this one get away from us."