Dallas Slips Ahead Of Kings 102-100
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Jason Terry scored 22 points, Jose Barea had 20 and the Dallas Mavericks won their 10th straight game, defeating the Sacramento Kings 102-100 on Wednesday night.
Barea scored 15 points in the fourth quarter for Dallas, which has defeated the Kings seven consecutive times.
Samuel Dalembert had a season-high 20 points for Sacramento. DeMarcus Cousins, who was ejected from the game with a pair of technicals, had 19 points and 15 rebounds and Tyreke Evans contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Kings have lost four straight, and for the 18th time this season they squandered a fourth-quarter lead.
Jason Kidd had 14 points and eight rebounds and Tyson Chandler added 13 points for Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting.
The Mavericks took the lead on Terry's 3-pointer and Barea added another one to put Dallas in front 100-95 with 1:31 remainiing.
With the Kings trailing 100-98, Evans drove into a crowd and put up an airball and Nowitzki grabbed the rebound. Terry made two free throws with 4 seconds left to put the Mavericks ahead 102-98.
Terry made a free throw following a technical foul on Cousins. On Dallas' next possession, Kidd buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 6:46 left to give the Mavericks an 89-84 lead.
Following an unproductive first half, Cousins was aggressive in the third quarter, getting 12 points and six rebounds to help the Kings rally from a nine-point deficit and close the gap to 74-73 heading into the fourth.
Nowitzki suffered a wrist injury in the first half Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The X-rays were negative, but the normally offensive-minded Nowitzki had just three first-half points on 1 of 4 shooting.
The Mavericks trailed for a large portion of the first, but closed out the second quarter with a 19-4 advantage that included a pair of 3-pointers by Kidd that sent Dallas into halftime with a 56-47 lead.
Terry scored 12 first-half points and Chandler had 11 for the Mavericks, who outscored the Kings 36-19 in the second quarter. Evans and Dalembert had eight points for the Kings.
Notes: Prior to the game, Kings part-time announcer Bill Walton held a Grateful Dead meet-and-greet with fans that included Mickey Hart, the band's drummer. Dalembert came off the bench and connected on his first four shots over a three-minute period. Former Kings player Peja Stojakovic missed both his 3-pointers and remains tied with Dale Ellis for fourth on the all-time 3-point list with 1,719. Stojakovic made 1,070 3-pointers in his nine seasons with the Kings.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
