Feb

11

Three Mavericks Score 20+ Points Each, Corral Kings 118-100

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap 

Dallas Mavericks swingman Josh Howard

One would think that with Jason Terry out of their lineup, the Dallas Mavericks would be without some offense; if you actually thought that, then you would be wrong.  In their game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, offense would be the least of their problems as they shot 55% from the floor and had a trio of players who scored at least 21 points each.  The end result, you ask?  Dallas made a mockery of Sacramento as they easily disposed of the Kings 118-100 at American Airlines Center.

The game was definitely one of contrasts as Dallas outperformed Sacramento in every meaningful category – they outrebounded Sacramento 47-28, nearly doubled them up in assists at 28-15, had 12 steals to the Kings’ 8 and blocked more shots at 6-4 – so in actuality, the game wasn’t really as close as the final scored indicated.

But if you saw the beginning of the game. one would have thought that the Mavericks would have difficulty with the Kings as they missed their first 4 shots and had already committed three turnovers 4 minutes into the opening quarter.  After a Dallas timeout, Sacramento would score to go up 12-8, with all of the Mavericks scored up to that point by Josh Howard.

But Dirk Nowitzki would make a pair of free throws on their next possession and would follow a Jason Kidd steal with a jumper 31 seconds later before a tie-breaking layup by Howard.  An Antoine Wright layup at the 5:43 mark of the period made it 18-14 and would be part of 13 consecutive baskets made by the Mavericks; Dallas would go into halftime with a 62-57 lead.

Wright would score 11 points in the third quarter, including a layup that gave the Mavericks a 74-63 lead with 6:52 remaining in the period; the Mavericks would hold onto that double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest,  The loss by Sacramento guaranteed a losing season for them.

Wright and Howard led all Dallas scorers with 23 points each – with Wright grabbing a pair of rebounds, dishing out an assist along with 3 steals while Howard grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 5 assists with a steal and a blocked shot; Nowitzki added 21 with 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot while Kidd pitched in 15 (including 3 three-pointers) with 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 4 steals.  Erick Dampier grabbed a team-high 16 rebounds.

Sacramento was led by Kevin Martin with 18 points (including 3 treys), 4 rebounds, an assist and 3 steals while John Salmons added 16 with a rebound and 5 assists; Shelden Williams, in some meaningful playing time, poured in 15 with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  Dallas (31-20) plays again on Thursday when they host the Boston Celtics while Sacramento (11-42) makes the short trip to Houston to take on the Rockets on Wednesday night.


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