OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Nick Van Exel and the Golden State Warriors knew a victory over the Sacramento Kings wouldn't come easily.
Van Exel hit a key runner with 18 seconds left as the Warriors snapped a 15-game losing streak against the Kings with a 98-91 victory.
Golden State had not beaten its Northern California rivals since December 20, 1999. The Warriors appeared to have the win in hand after Jason Richardson's two free throws opened up a 93-79 lead with 4:31 left.
But Sacramento roared back with 12 straight points to get within 93-91 on Mike Bibby's two free throws with 1:49 to go. The Kings had chances to tie, but Bibby missed a pair of foul shots with 50 seconds left and Peja Stojakovic's jumper 12 seconds later rimmed out.
Van Exel, playing against Sacramento with Golden State for the first time, was isolated on Doug Christie and his runner in the lane went around the rim before falling through for a 95-91 advantage. Van Exel scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
"We put the ball in his hands," Warriors coach Eric Musselman said. "He has delivered for us this year and he has delivered his entire career."
Bibby scored 28 points for Sacramento, which has dropped consecutive games for the first time since November 7-9. Bibby, an 83 percent foul shooter, was 6-of-6 from the line before missing his crucial pair down the stretch.
"I could not believe that I missed not just one free throw but two," Bibby said.
Richardson finished with 25 points and Mike Dunleavy Jr. added 16 of his 18 in the first half for Golden State, which won its second straight against a Western Conference powerhouse following Tuesday's victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Warriors also got 15 points and 14 rebounds from Troy Murphy.
"It has been a mental thing in the past," Murphy said. "They are the closest team to us and they have beaten us 15 times in a row. It has been a big mental barrier for us to get through, because we want to beat them worse than any other team in the league."
Van Exel snapped a drought of more than six minutes without a basket with a 3-pointer for an 89-77 cushion with 5:29 to go. Van Exel scored 10 of the Warriors' final 12 points.
"We just have to keep playing together and stay in the hunt for the playoffs," Van Exel said. "That is all that we want to do. If we can get everyone healthy, that would be a pretty good goal for us."
Stojakovic, returning after a one-game suspension for bumping an official in Monday's win over Memphis, scored 16 points for Sacramento, which dropped to 5-6 on the road.
