Kings Drop Close Game Against Mavericks
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Jason Terry had 23 and the Dallas Mavericks rallied for their ninth straight victory, 105-103 over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
The Mavericks outscored Sacramento 15-4 in the final 5 1/2 minutes to improve to 8-1 on the road and 16-4 overall. It was their seventh straight victory against Sacramento.
Caron Butler had 11 points for Dallas and Tyson Chandler added 10.
Tyreke Evans led Sacramento with 25 points and eight assists, Donte Greene had 19 points, rookie DeMarcus Cousins had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Beno Udrih added 16 points. The Kings have lost seven straight and 13 of 14.
Chandler hit two free throws with 53 seconds left and Jason Kidd made two more to put the Mavericks ahead 105-101. After Cousins' basket cut the lead to two, Terry stole Carl Landry's pass along the baseline in the closing seconds.
Udrih made a pair of medium range jumpers at the 5:42 mark to give Sacramento a nine-point lead at 99-90. But the Kings went cold offensively and Dallas responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a fastbreak dunk by Terry that tied it at 101 with 1:13 remaining.
After Nowitzki's jumper put the Mavericks up by a point early in the fourth quarter, Francisco Garcia responded for the Kings. He converted layup and a pair of 3-pointers, scoring eight straight to put Sacramento in front 91-84 with 9:07 left.
Quiet in the first half with two points, Butler scored 11 points in the third quarter to help the Mavericks pull even at 80. Udrih scored nine points for the Kings.
In hopes of injecting more offense into his struggling team, Kings coach Paul Westphal inserted Cousins and Udrih into the starting lineup. The Kings had scored 85 or fewer points in five of the previous six games. Greene scored 19 points and Evans had 16 in the first half when the Kings led 55-54.
Nowitzki got Dallas going, scoring 15 of his 19 first-half points in the second quarter.
NOTES: Kidd was scoreless until converting on a three-point play in the third, and following with a 3-point shot. ... Greene made his first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers in the opening period when the Kings had a season-best 37 points.
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