(My Sportsbook) - The Denver Nuggets hope to clinch the Northwest Division title and inch closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs tonight when they host the lowly Sacramento Kings at the Pepsi Center

The Nuggets will secure their sixth division title with a win over the Kings tonight and can earn the second seed in the West with a triumph tonight and a win at second-place Portland in their season finale on Wednesday. If they stumble against the Kings, Denver could still clinch the division crown if the Trail Blazers lose Monday at home to Oklahoma City.

Denver, which has won nine straight at home and is 32-8 at the Pepsi Center this season, will also tie a franchise record for wins in a season with a triumph tonight, matching the 1987-88 team.

Most recently, Denver faltered in Hollywood against the best team in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant notched 33 points in that one and Andrew Bynum came back from a 32-game absence to score 16 points and grab seven rebounds in just over 21 minutes, as the Lakers rolled past the Nuggets, 116-102, last Thursday.

Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 23 points, while Nene notched 17 points and 10 rebounds. Chauncey Billups donated 17 points, while J.R. Smith poured in 19 points off the bench. Denver, which leads the Blazers by a game in the Northwest, saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end in the encounter.

Forward Kenyon Martin missed his fourth straight game against the Lakers with a left rib cartilage strain and is listed as day-to-day.

The Kings, meanwhile, continue to play out the string while dreaming of Blake Griffin.

Sacramento suffered one of its toughest losses of the season on Sunday when Michael Finley's three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left lifted the San Antonio Spurs to a 95-92 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Finley appeared to make the three after the shot clock expired, however. In what is destined to become a topic of offseason rule conversation, the play unfolded with the game knotted at 92 and time running out. Tony Parker drove the lane and dished a pass to Finley on the right side of the arc. Finley released a good shot, but a few tenths of a second after the shot clock had run out.

"Catch and shoot. That's pretty much it," said Finley. "Tony penetrated, made a great aggressive play and just kicked it out to me and I just shot it."

However, it was ruled a good shot and was not reviewable. After Andres Nocioni's desperation three fell well short on the other end, the Spurs walked off with the win and the Kings walked off on the short end of a controversial loss.

Spencer Hawes had 24 points to pace Sacramento, which had lost eight in a row. Nocioni finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Francisco Garcia added 12 points. Bobby Jackson scored 11 points off the bench in the loss.

Kings guard Kevin Martin missed his sixth straight game with a balky left ankle and will sit for the rest of the season.