SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Mike Bibby scored 23 points, Kevin Martin added 20 and the Sacramento Kings hit more than enough field goals in the fourth quarter of a 96-78 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Ron Artest scored nine points for the Kings, who rebounded just fine from a humiliating 0-for-20 shooting performance in the fourth quarter in Salt Lake City two days earlier. Sacramento managed just 12 points on free throws while blowing a 12-point lead in an 89-79 defeat.

Kenny Thomas, who scored 10 points and led a strong rebounding game with nine boards, made sure the Kings wouldn’t repeat the debacle with a fierce dunk on Sacramento’s opening possession of the fourth.

Rookie Francisco Garcia, who had X-rays on his hand at halftime, added back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the Kings’ lead to 73-58, and they never let up in the final minutes of their fifth straight home victory. Garcia scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth.

Mehmet Okur had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four of six. They had their own offensive issues this time, going scoreless for nearly 6 minutes in the second quarter before falling irretrievably behind when they couldn’t score in the first 3:45 of the fourth.

Sacramento hasn’t lost at home since Jan. 8, but is 1-6 on the road in that stretch.

The Kings played without starters Bonzi Wells and Brad Miller while both nursed minor injuries. Artest started despite a bruised hip, hitting two 3-pointers and leading a strong defensive effort in his fifth game with the Kings.

Bibby hit two of Sacramento’s 10 3-pointers, while Martin had another strong outing in Wells’ absence, attacking the basket while going 7-for-9. The second-year guard might be edging out Wells, a soon-to-be free agent, in Sacramento’s plans for next season.

Miller sat out his third straight game with a broken right thumb, while Wells rested his torn groin muscle again after playing in the last two games. Wells missed 19 games before his return last Tuesday.

Coach Rick Adelman went with a physical lineup in Miller’s absence, giving key playing time to veterans Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner. Skinner provided eight points in the fourth quarter and heady defense against Okur, who wasn’t his usual effective self.

Matt Harpring scored 14 points in a reserve role, but Andrei Kirilenko was limited to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Notes: Williamson hit the fifth 3-pointer of his career in the final seconds of the first quarter, improving to 5-for-41 in his 11 NBA seasons. … Referee Bernie Fryer hit Shareef Abdur-Rahim with a technical foul in the first quarter for nothing more than a vehement hand gesture. Abdur-Rahim’s broken jaw makes verbal arguments rather difficult. … Utah G Gordan Giricek missed his third straight game with a left ankle injury. He didn’t travel to Sacramento with the team.

AP-ES-02-05-06 1756EST