The Sacramento Kings refuse to blame Mike Bibby for their recent slump.
The Kings lost Saturday night for the second time in as many games since Bibby's return, suffering a 110-101 road loss to the surging Phoenix Suns.
Bibby suffered a broken foot in training camp and missed the first 27 games.
Sacramento did not miss its star point guard, going 21-6 and zooming to the Pacific Division lead.
But the Kings suffered their first home loss of the season to San Antonio as Bibby made his return Thursday night, and now have lost consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 5-6.
The star of Sacramento's 2002 postseason run, Bibby has played pretty well, collecting 36 points and 12 assists.
However, the Kings may be having trouble incorporating him into the offence.
"Mike's going to be okay," said forward Chris Webber, who had his 15th career triple-double with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. "He's shooting the ball well, handling the ball well, but in no way is this his fault. It's a collective effort."
"I wouldn't say it's because Mike came back," coach Rick Adelman said. "Maybe we should've gotten Cleveland and somebody else the first two games he came back and we'd be 2-0."
Instead, they got the Suns, who have won six of their last seven games to move within four games of the first-place Kings.
Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion scored 28 points apiece for Phoenix, which pulled away from an 89-89 tie midway through the final period to end a five-game slide against Sacramento.
"The guys hung in there, kept there composure and made plays when they had to," Suns coach Frank Johnson said. "The guys at the top of that list were Shawn Marion and Stephon."
* The Kings suffered their first home loss of the season to San Antonio as Mike Bibby made his return Thursday night, and now have lost consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 5-6.
* Bibby suffered a broken foot in training camp and missed the first 27 games.
* But Bibby has actually played pretty well since his return, collecting 36 points and 12 assists.
Webber's tip-in tied it, but the Kings had just one basket over the next six minutes. Marion and Marbury scored to give the Suns the lead for good.
Portland 81, Seattle 80
Derek Aderson had 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left, as host Portland won in the waning moments for the second straight night. Bonzi Wells was suspended two games and Rasheed Wallace fined 15,000 dollars for their roles in Friday's brawl in Golden State.
San Antonio 92, Washington 81
Tony Parker scored 21 points for the host Spurs, who closed with a 9-0 surge and beat Washington for the fifth straight time. Bruce Bowen slowed Michael Jordan, holding him to 16 points on 8-of-20 shooting.
Atlanta 79, Philadelphia 77
The Hawks held on, taking advantage of 6-of-28 shooting by Allen Iverson and surviving last-second shots by Eric Snow and Keith Van Horn. Visiting Philadelphia had a three-game winning streak stopped.
New Jersey 100, Detroit 92
Jason Kidd collected 27 points and 12 assists for the Nets, who won their ninth straight home game.
Chicago 110, Indiana 103
Jalen Rose scored 25 of his 28 points in the final period as the Bulls ended a 10-game skid in the series with their sixth win in their last seven home games.
Boston 89, Cleveland 82
After Paul Pierce was ejected early in the fourth quarter, the visiting Celtics held the Cavaliers to 1-of-15 shooting down the stretch.
Minnesota 98, Houston 86
Kevin Garnett had 27 points and 10 boards for his NBA-leading 27th double-double as host Minnesota snapped Houston's three-game winning streak.
Milwaukee 94, New York 90
Sam Cassell scored 25 points, including a jumper and 3-pointer in the final minute, as host Milwaukee ended a three-game slide.
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