Tue 15 Jan 2008
Martin Scores 39, Kings Outlast Mavericks 122-120
Posted by Stephen Rhodes under Main
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?Based on Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Martin’s performance Monday night, it is a safe assumption that he is fully recovered from his recent groin injury.? He and John Salmons led a wild rally, enabling the Kings to escape from Arco Arena with a narrow 122-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Both teams shot very well (Dallas shot 57.1%, Sacramento 50.6%); Dallas scored 14 straight points midway through the first quarter, capped by a dunk by Eric Dampier and consecutive 3-pointers by Eddie Jones and Josh Howard, giving the Mavericks a 27-17 lead.? Dallas would go into halftime, hanging on to a thin 57-55 lead; Sacramento’s Mikki Moore’s slam dunk gave the Kings their first lead, 63-61, since the midway point of the first quarter.? With Martin and Fernando Garcia combining for 17 of the Kings’ next 23 points, Sacramento’s lead would increase to 86-77 with less than 2 minutes left in the third period; the Kings went into the 4th quarter leading 86-80.
Dallas’ Jason Terry’s 3-point play gave the Mavericks a 118-117 lead with 22.2 seconds left in the game; the Kings’ Martin replied with a 3-point play of his own with 11.6 left to go.? Dallas’ Terry drained a trey to tie the game with 7 ticks left, setting up the game-winner by Sacramento’s Salmons.? Sacramento was led by Martin’s 39 points in only 27 minutes off the bench; Salmons and Garcia pitched in with 22 each.?
Dallas’ leading scorers (or in this case co-leading) were Devin Harris and Terry with 25 points each - Harris added 9 assists while Terry dished out 7 assists.? Dirk Nowitzki added 21?while Dampier?chipped in with 8 and 10 rebounds.? Sacramento (15-21) travels to Canada to take on the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night, while Dallas (26-12) returns?home to host the Seattle SuperSonics Saturday - a lengthy break for the Mavericks indeed.?
