Notebook: Mavericks 110, Kings 100
Posted Wednesday April 11, 2012 12:03AM
By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
THE FACTS: A group effort by Shawn Marion and the Mavericks offset a great effort by DeMarcus Cousins and gave Dallas a desperately needed 110-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday.
Marion led six Mavericks in double figures with 10 points and 14 rebounds for his 10th double-double. Dirk Nowitzki added 15 points and eight boards and Delonte West had 13 points, while reserves Rodrigue Beaubois (15 points) and Jason Terry (13) fueled the Mavs' 54-23 advantage in bench points.
Cousins contributed game highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds to go with a career-high six steals, three assists and two blocked shots. Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas each scored 16 for the Kings, who dropped their fifth straight game.
QUOTABLE: "We just need to come prepared and ready for business the next [eight] games. Everybody needs to be focused so we can make a push for the playoffs."
-- Mavericks guard Vince Carter, who had seven points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
THE STAT: This was the Mavericks' 16th straight victory in the series at the AAC. The Kings have not won in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003.
TURNING POINT: Both teams shot exactly 44.6 percent (41-for-92). The difference was that Dallas was more aggressive, attacking the glass and getting to the line. The Mavericks won the battle of the boards 56-40, including 17-8 on the offensive glass. They had a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points and made 12 more free throws than the Kings.
QUOTABLE II: "This is the first time we've had this complement of players healthy. It's a beginning. We don't have a lot of time to be experimenting and this and that. Every second counts from here on out, and we know that."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle
HOT: With the disgruntled and disinterested Lamar Odom out of the picture in Dallas, Yi Jianlian took advantage of his increased playing time. He swished all four of his field-goal attempts in the second quarter, draining jumpers from 17, 20, 20 and 22 feet to match his season high of eight points. He heard more cheers in about four minutes that quarter than Odom did in four months.
NOT: The Mavericks committed seven turnovers in the first quarter on their way to 17 miscues for the second straight game. The Kings were credited with 12 steals.
BAD MOVE: After the Kings cut the Mavericks' lead to 92-87 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Thornton and Jimmer Fredette, Cousins stalled the momentum with a silly foul. Prone on the floor under his own basket, he reached up and flattened West with an arm tackle. West made both free throws with 5:58 left, then canned a 3-pointer on Dallas' next possession to push the lead back to 10.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: After missing four games last week with a strained right groin, Dallas point guard Jason Kidd looked rested and re-energized. He finished with seven points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
NOTABLE: Dallas is 17-1 when scoring 100 or more points. ... Only two of the Mavericks' eight remaining regular-season games are at home. ... The Kings are just 5-24 on the road. ... Dallas (32-26) gained some ground in the Western Conference playoff race on idle Denver (31-26), Phoenix (30-27) and Utah (30-28).
UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Thursday @ Golden State, Friday @ Portland, Sunday at L.A. Lakers. For the Kings, Wednesday @ New Orleans, Friday @ Oklahoma City, Sunday vs. Portland.
http://www.nba.com/games/20120410/SACDAL/gameinfo.html