Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday, January 10, the Mavericks bounced back against the Sacramento Kings to win, 108-104, in overtime.
The Mavericks were behind for much of this game, as they had no answer for DeMarcus Cousins, who had a monster game with a near triple-double. Cousins was absolutely dominant inside, scoring 32 points to go along with 16 boards and dishing out nine assists. Tyson Chandler had an impressive game of his own with 16 points and 17 rebounds but had trouble defending Cousins all night long.
The Kings suffered an early blow in this game with Rudy Gay leaving at the end of the first quarter with a left knee sprain.
This was a tight game for the better part of the night, with the Mavericks having a lead no bigger than seven points, while the Kings had their biggest lead in the fourth quarter at 10. In the end the Kings showed great signs of a still inexperience and young team unable to close out games.
The Kings were up, 95-85, before the Mavericks sparked a 14-4 run capped off by two Tyson Chandler costless throws with 33.5 seconds left to tie the game at 99-all. On the ensuing play, DeMarcus Cousins committed an offensive foul on Tyson Chandler, his sixth of the game and inevitably ended the night for him. The Mavericks, without question, got the benefit of a friendly call there with what looked like a flop from center Tyson Chandler. Monta Ellis would have a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed an 18-foot jumper that forced the game into overtime.
Monta started overtime with a drive to the basket to give the Mavericks their first lead since the second quarter. The Kings would then lose shooting guard Ben McLemore for the rest of the overtime period after he got poked in the eye, which resulted in a cut that took him out of the game.
Collison gave the Kings the lead back, 102-101, with a pair of costless throws with 1:29 left before Rondo hit a three as the shot clock expired on the ensuing play to swing it in the Mavs favor, 104-102. The Mavericks wouldn't relinquish the lead, as Ellis would hit four key costless throws in the last 8.7 seconds to seal the victory.
This was by far an efficient scoring night for either team, as both struggled to score at different stretches throughout the game. The Mavericks shot a below average 43 percent from the field and only 25 percent from three-point land. The Kings fared no better, as they shot 44 percent from the field and a horrendous 5.6 percent (1-for-18) from beyond the arc.
Monta Ellis led the Mavericks in scoring with 28 points and had a game-high 10 assists. Ellis was as he's been throughout the season - the Mavericks closer down the stretch with clutch baskets and costless throws.
All five starters scored in double figures including Rajon Rondo, who had his second best scoring night as a Maverick with 21 points, none bigger than his big three-pointer in overtime that gave the Mavs the lead for good.
With little production from their bench, all five Dallas starters played a minimum of 37 minutes, which is a little troublesome considering they fly to Denver to face the Nuggets tomorrow night.
