by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Dallas Mavericks (35-38) came to Sleep Train Arena on Sunday as a team that needed a win to stay alive in the playoff hunt. The Mavs began the contest as the number nine team in the Western Conference. When the game was over, Dallas was still in ninth place one-half  game behind the Rockets for final spot in the playoffs.

The Sacramento Kings (29-44) really have nothing left to play for except for professional pride. The Kings made themselves proud on Sunday as they ran the Dallas Mavericks out of the building and won the game 133-111. It was the Kings second consecutive win on their home court in three days.

The Kings scored 30-plus points in three of the four quarters. Sacramento never trailed the Mavs in the game. The Kings put up a game-high 39 points in the third quarter.

That third quarter production is key because the Kings have been in many games this season where they played well in the first half only to fall apart in the third quarter. They did not suffer that kind of humiliation in this game.

This was a team victory. The Kings had eight players score in double figures and posted a season high 72 points off the bench. They shot 62.2-percent (51-for-82) from the floor for the game which is a season high. Sacramento shot 45.0-percent (9-for-20) from beyond the 3-point line.

The Kings had 32 assists and turned the ball over just 11 times for an outstanding 3-to-1 ratio. They recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots versus Dallas. Sacramento outscored the Mavs 68-46 in the paint.

This was a dominant performance against a team that is fighting for their playoff lives. If the Kings could have put together five to six games like this earlier in the season, they would fighting for a playoff berth.

Kings

The Kings leading scorer was – no it was not Cousins. Rookie Willie Cauley-Stein put up 21 points to lead the Kings in scoring. Cauley-Stein added seven rebounds and two assists to his line score. The Kings youngest big man also played some very tough defense in his 28-minutes of playing time.

DeMarcus Cousins did have another double-double game putting up 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to go with five assists and two steals. Cousins recorded those numbers in just 28 minutes on the floor.

Rajon Rondo had another double-double game scoring 11 points and dishing out 11 assists. Rondo turned the ball over just two times.

Darren Collison led the Kings scoring off the bench with 17 points. Collison shot 7-for-11 from the floor and added four assists plus one steal.

Seth Curry got his second consecutive start for Sacramento. The other Curry scored 14 points and added three assists and one steal. He scored all 14 of those points in the third quarter. Curry shot 4-for-4 from the floor, 2-for-2 from 3-point land and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

Ben McLemore returned to the line up after having been out due to a finger tip injury. The shooting guard added 14 points hitting on 5-of-9 shots.

Casspi and Koufos scored 10 points each. Rudy Gay scored nine while Quincy Acy added seven points.

Mavericks

Dirk Nowitzki failed to dominate the game for Dallas. He scored 14 points but shot just 6-for-15 from the field. Nowitzki never seemed to get into the flow of the game on Sunday.

Guard Raymond Felton led the scoring for the Mavs with his 15 points. Felton also had five assists and two steals.

J.J. Barea put up 14 points. Former Warrior David Lee scored 12 points off the bench.

The Mavericks shot a respectable 47.7-percent (42-for-88) for the game. Dallas went 8-for-24 from behind the 3-point arc.

Up next

The Kings have to play the second game of a back-to-back on Monday night in Portland versus the playoff bound Trail Blazers. Sacramento is 3-14 in the second games of back-to-backs this season.

The Mavericks also have a back-to-back scheduled as they play the Nuggets on Monday night in Denver.