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Tuesday, Apr. 4 8:30pm ET
Mavs claim 1st win vs. Kings this year | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DALLAS (AP) -- Long-range shooting and a dominant game from Michael Finley bailed out the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. The Sacramento Kings held a 47-32 rebounding advantage and forced the Mavericks into 19 turnovers, but Dallas went 13-for-19 from 3-point range and Finley scored a season-high 38 points in a 105-102 victory.
"Michael Finley's our All-Star," said Mavericks guard Erick Strickland. "He did what he's supposed to do night in and night out. He led by example and hit some big shots." Finley converted two key free throws with 15.4 seconds left and scored 14 fourth-quarter points to lift the Mavericks to their first win against the Kings in four meetings this season. Dallas has won nine of its last 13. "I had a hot hand and my teammates were getting me the ball," said Finley, who hit four second-half 3-pointers and went 14-for-26 from the field. "It was one of those nights you dream about." The Mavericks got a lift when Kings leading scorer and rebounder Chris Webber was held out to rest a strained left hamstring. Webber suffered the injury in the second half of Sunday's victory over Philadelphia and is listed as day-to-day. "Chris adds a dimension for them," Strickland said. "We had some things we were going to try to do to slow him down. He's a great player. They obviously missed him." Dallas needed a 54.4 percent shooting performance from the field to get the victory. "We were lucky we made a lot of 3s because we didn't really play all that well," said Mavericks point guard Steve Nash, who had 12 points and 10 assists. "But things are coming around for us. We're learning to win tight games. We're learning from past mistakes." Corliss Williamson's 20 points paced the Kings, who had won six of their previous nine. Vlade Divac added 16 points and 10 rebounds. "We really competed in the second half," said Kings coach Rick Adelman. "We put ourselves in position to win on the road, but we just didn't do enough to get over the hump and they shot it too well." Strickland had 21 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 13 for the Mavericks. The Kings rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit and were within 103-102 with 19.8 seconds left on Jason Williams' layup. But Finley made two free throws with 15.4 seconds left to extend Dallas' advantage to 105-102. Sacramento tried to work Predrag Stojakovic free for a 3-pointer, but Stojakovic stepped out of bounds in the left corner with 2.7 seconds left before he was able to get a shot off. Sacramento took a 97-96 lead with 3:38 left on Stojakovic's 3-pointer. But Finley converted two free throws, then hit a short jumper with 2:40 left to give Dallas a 100-97 advantage with 2:40 remaining. The Mavericks were in front by as many as 17 in the third quarter before the Kings went on a 13-2 run to reduce the deficit to 72-66. Sacramento was within 80-75 after three quarters.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Sacramento Clubhouse Dallas Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 102 New Jersey 93
Dallas 105
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