Kings Recap: Mavs Defeat Kings 108-104 in OT
By: Morgan Ragan
The Dallas Mavericks ended their two-game losing streak defeating the Sacramento Kings in overtime 108-104 at Sleep Train Arena Tuesday night.
Rudy Gay left the game with a left knee strain at the 1:40 mark in the first quarter and he'll have MRI Wednesday morning.
The Kings shot 63 percent in the first half but led by only three points. Sacramento finished the game 1 for 18 behind the arc and shot 44.2 percent from the field.
DeMarcus Cousins had his sixth 30-point game of the season and was one assist shy from his second career triple-double. He finished with 32 points, 16 boards and nine assists before he fouled out late in the 4th quarter on what appeared to be a flop by Mavericks center Tyson Chandler.
Mavs guard Rajon Rondo had 21 points in his 38 minutes and hit a go-ahead step-back three-pointer that put Dallas up 104-102 in overtime.
"We're playing well, but I always say well isn't good enough. We need wins, we could feel good about ourselves for the most part but we have got to start getting some wins," Kings point guard Darren Collison said following the loss.
Collison played a team-high 45 minutes and finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Analysis:
The game was tied at 92 when Cousins committed an offensive foul as he worked to gain position on Chandler. Replays showed that Chandler flopped and I expect Chandler will be hearing from the league office.
Cousins fouled out with 21 seconds left in regulation. Without Gay and Cousins, the team looked stagnant offensively and it didn't help that Ben McLemore was unable to finish the game after getting cut above the eye.
The call on Cousins was controversial but Dallas finished on a 14-4 run in regulation. Also, the Kings made only one-three pointed and turned the ball over 20 times. You're not going to win many games when you don't take care of the ball.
