Kings speed past Warriors on Wednesday night.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

OAKLAND _ Go-Karts don't go as fast as automobiles. Scooters don't go as fast as motorcycles. And the Warriors don't go as fast as the Sacramento Kings.

Not that they didn't try.

The Warriors found themselves in the fast lane with the Kings on Wednesday night at the Arena and the result was a 122-101 steamrolling in front of a near-sellout crowd of 19,107.

It was fun while it lasted for the Warriors, who led 34-32 after one period. But that small and misleading lead only served to entice them into more uptempo game, which is just what the Kings want and like.

Despite MVP candidate Chris Webber missing his ninth consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle, the Kings (38-18) still routinely took care of the Warriors (16-42), who lost for the 14th time in their past 16 games.

The absence of Webber, who is averaging 27.4 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, hardly seemed to matter to Sacramento, which has gone 6-3 during this stretch without him. The Warriors played without Marc Jackson, who missed his sixth consecutive game because of a strained right groin. Center Erick Dampier, however, did return for Golden State after missing the past 38 games with a left knee injury. Dampier played for the first time since early December. He has undergone three left knee surgeries in the past 17 months.

He still seemed to be favoring the knee Wednesday. On his first shot attempt with 7:30 remaining in the first quarter, he went to a left-handed half-hook in the lane that barely got above the rim. Since he first injured the leg in September 1999, Dampier has had difficulty going to his right because he needs to push off the left foot to make that kind of move.