OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- The Sacramento Kings lost the Pacific Division title twice in one night.
The Kings struggled in a 97-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors, losing the division title after their biggest rival pulled an improbable victory.
Sacramento (55-27) could have clinched the division with a victory but continued to struggle, losing for the 10th time in 16 games. The Kings still had hope afterward, but the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers on a last-second shot by Kobe Bryant.
"We played very poorly in three straight road games, and got three losses," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We close (the deficit) in the fourth quarter and it's too late. I don't understand why we wouldn't have more energy tonight, why we didn't play better. I do know that next Sunday this game won't make any difference; it's how you play from that point on."
Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 27 points and Mike Bibby added 22 and 10 assists as Sacramento fell to fourth place in the Western Conference and will face the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the playoffs.
"I think those games in the regular season shouldn't affect us. Starting Sunday we should be ready," Stojakovic said.
"I don't care if it's the two or four (seed), it really doesn't matter now," Kings center Vlade Divac said. "Who we play really doesn't matter. We have to fight through and play basketball, not think about who we're going to play against."
Sacramento never led after the second quarter but pulled within 93-91 on a layup by Mike Bibby with 49 seconds left. Adonal Foyle responded with a hook shot and Kings forward Chris Webber missed a wide-open 3-pointer at the other end.
Michael Pietrus sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds left as the Warriors (37-45) ended the season by winning 12 of their final 17 games.
"We had a lot of injuries this year," said Golden State guard Jason Richardson, who scored 28 points. "We haven't been healthy, so we've been playing well without all our point guards. We didn't want to go out there and lay down and just give up, we were playing for pride. Guys went out there and just played hard."
Golden State had just seven players available, but its bench outscored Sacramento's, 21-7, led by 16 points from Calbert Cheaney.
Peja Stojakovic scored 27 points and Bibby finished with 22 for Sacramento, which shot less than 40 percent (36-of-91) from the floor and was outrebounded, 57-46.
"We don't box out," Divac said. "As a team defense, we don't help each other. That's something we should work on and I'm sure we can change that."
There is plenty of speculation that the Warriors may fire coach Eric Musselman before next season and revamp the entire roster.
"I don't know what's going on," said Richardson. "That's the front office, I'm just a player, I don't know if I'll be here next year. You never know, that's how the NBA goes. So come October 1, who's here is here and we'll just roll with it."
