Mavs Topple Kings
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — No matter the circumstances, the Mavericks have the Kings’ number. Dallas’ victory over Sacramento on Tuesday only reinforced that point.
Trailing by double digits with barely more than four minutes to go in regulation, Dallas rode the big shoulders of center Tyson Chandler down the stretch to force overtime, and the Mavericks emerged with a 108-104 victory over the Kings at Sleep Train Arena.
“Down 10 points with 4:11 to go in the fourth quarter, you’ve got to virtually pitch a shutout the rest of the way to win the game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Our guys did that. It showed a lot of guts. It was a great team effort and a really gutty effort.”
Mavericks guard Monta Ellis scored 28 points and handed out 10 assists, and he knocked down two free throws with 8.7 seconds left in overtime to help Dallas (27-12) avoid its first three-game skid since Feb. 28-March 5, 2014.
Chandler finished with 16 points and 17 rebounds for Dallas, and his two free throws with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped the Mavericks’ 14-4 run in the final minutes of regulation. He scored six points during that stretch, blocked a shot and collected an offensive rebound that led to the first of two straight fouls called
against Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins.
“We showed a lot of resiliency down the stretch,” Chandler said. “We were scrambling, and we made a lot of big plays.”
Chandler turned his ankle while battling for a rebound and drew Cousins’ fifth foul in doing so.
“Its banged up, but I’m all right,” Chandler said.
On Sacramento’s next possession, Chandler appeared to flop at a phantom elbow from Cousins as he tried to establish position in the key.
“They made the right call,” Cousins said. “It happened.”
Cousins scored 32 points and grabbed 16 rebounds — his fifth straight double-double — and added nine assists, but the Kings (16-22) failed to earn consecutive victories for the first time since November. Cousins moved past Lionel Simmons into sixth place on Sacramento’s all-time scoring list with 5,851 career points. Simmons had 5,833.
Sacramento, which blew a 24-point lead in a 106-98 loss at Dallas on Nov. 11, didn’t have forward Rudy Gay in overtime or the three previous periods. Gay, the Kings’ second-leading scorer at 20.8 points per game, left with 1:44 to go in the first period with a left knee injury, and he did not return.
Gay, the Kings’ leader in minutes (36.3 per contest), began limping noticeably late in the first quarter and exited after contributing four points and two assists. An MRI found a lateral joint capsule sprain, the Kings announced after the game. Gay’s status is day-to-day.
“Our guys fought hard,” Kings coach Tyrone Corbin said. “They did a great job of competing. We turned the ball over 20 times for 27 points, but I still can’t say enough about how I respect the team’s effort. They did a great job at fighting and giving us a chance to win. It was a tough, hard overtime without our two key guys to close it out.”
Guard Darren Collison added 18 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento. Kings forward Carl Landry scored 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and he pulled down 10 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.
Forward Derrick Williams, playing 36 minutes with Gay out, added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Guard Rajon Rondo had 21 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals for the Mavericks. Forward Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points, and forward Chandler Parsons scored 13 for Dallas.
