It's been the rare occasion when defense and sound ball handling have been staples of a Kings victory.

Sunday night at Arco Arena was one of those rarities, as the Kings limited the Los Angeles Clippers to 37.3 percent field-goal shooting on the way to a 97-92 victory before a crowd of 13,071 fans.

The 92 points by the Clippers (24-35) were a season low for a Kings opponent.

The Kings (20-39) won their second straight game partially because they committed just nine turnovers. Only thrice this season have the Kings limited their turnovers to fewer than 10. They did so during Friday's win over the Utah Jazz as well as Sunday night.

Two in a row might not be much for the league's upper echelon squads, but it's only the second time since Dec. 21 the Kings put together back-to-back. They've not won three straight since late November-early December, when they defeated New York, New Jersey, New Orleans and Indiana.

Sacramento begins a three-game road trip Tuesday in Oklahoma City. They'll also face Houston and Dallas on the trip.

Many times this season, coach Paul Westphal has pointed to shoddy offense as a contributor to poor defense. That was not the case against the Clippers.

The Kings made just 43.2 percent (36 of 88) of their field goal attempts, but still brought home a victory.

"On a night that we didn't shoot the ball particularly well," Westphal said, "I thought our defense won the game for us. I thought we played 48 minutes of first-class defense, really for the second game in a row."It's great not to shoot the ball very well and still get a win."

The Kings were sharp offensively in the first half as they took a 56-42 lead into the third quarter. Spencer Hawes scored 16 points during the first two quarters to lead the way. He attacked Clippers center Chris Kaman from the perimeter initially and then went at him with driving attempts.

Hawes, who also contributed a team-high nine rebounds and two blocked shots, failed to score in the second half, but Westphal credited his center for helping the team get off to a good start.

Tyreke Evans scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half and also was the man during the game's final minutes. The Clippers closed within 91-90 with 2:07 remaining when Rasual Butler made a three-pointer.

Evans scored on two strong drives to help hold off the Clippers, but couldn't have done so without huge assists from reserve Ime Udoka.

Carl Landry (18 points, eight rebounds) missed a 13-foot jump shot, but Udoka raced to the baseline to rescue the bouncing rebound and get the Kings another possession.

"I thought Ime made the play of the game for us," Westphal said, "when we missed a shot (with) a one-point lead and he stole the ball and we ended up scoring. It gave us a little breathing room."

Evans then sliced through the Clippers defense and went to the basket powerfully to score and give the Kings a 93-90 lead with 1:27 left.

The Kings played aggressive defense and forced Clippers guard Baron Davis into an errant 29-footer, which Udoka rebounded. Evans ended the ensuing possession with another clutch foray through the Clippers defense to make it 95-90 with 43 seconds left.