SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Don Nelson bellowed a greeting to the 7-foot German soaking his feet in an ice bath.
“Nowitzki is alive and well!” the Dallas coach said. “I haven’t seen him for a while!”
Yes, that was the real Dirk Nowitzki scoring 22 of his 31 points in the fantastic second half of the Mavericks’ 111-103 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday—and the real Antoine Walker, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison.
The Mavericks haven’t resembled themselves much this season, but they’re hoping 24 outstanding minutes can help them get their identity back.
After stumbling to a 16-point deficit at halftime, Dallas outscored the short-handed Kings 67-43—and four players combined for 10 3-pointers that secured the Mavs’ fifth win in Sacramento in their last six regular-season games.
“It was fun to watch us finally come through,” Nowitzki said. “It’s good to see that we can still execute.”
Dallas snapped a four-game losing streak by abandoning any set plays until the final moments of the second half. The Mavericks’ stars were allowed to create their own shots—and for the first time in weeks, they did it splendidly.
“We didn’t think. We just went out there and played basketball,” said Jamison, who had 22 points in just his second start of the season. “The coaches gave us the freedom, and we’re a talented team that can take advantage of that. It feels so good to finally start playing that way.”
Walker had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, hitting five 3-pointers—including the go-ahead basket with 1:04 left as Dallas scored the game’s final eight points. Nash added 14 points and 11 assists, and Michael Finley emerged from a rough outing to hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left.
In just their second home loss of the season, the Kings played without suspended All-Star Peja Stojakovic and injured forward Chris Webber, who hasn’t played since blowing out his knee early in the teams’ second-round playoff series last spring, won in seven games by Dallas.
“I think if we had had Peja, it would have been a different story,” said Vlade Divac, who had 21 points. “We would have been guarding them differently. The problem was in the second half. They started to make 3’s.”
Stojakovic became the NBA’s second-leading scorer with 24.9 points per game after his career-best 41 against Memphis on Tuesday night. But the mild-mannered Serbian All-Star also angrily brushed against referee Bernie Fryer, earning the first one-game suspension of his career.
No matter the circumstances, the Mavericks were energized by just their fourth road win of their disappointing season. The Kings are the NBA’s best home team over the last four years, but the Mavericks always seem to be at their best in Arco Arena.
Mike Bibby scored 23 points for the Kings, who dropped to 15-2 at home this season with just their third loss in their last 19 games overall. Brad Miller had 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists before fouling out.
“Our guys played really hard, but the Mavericks were just great shooting the 3 in the second half,” Kings coach Rick Adelman said. “It was somebody different each time. We had our chances, but they just made so many shots that we didn’t have an answer for.”
But Walker was the difference for the Mavericks, repeatedly stepping back for decisive shots. Dallas took its first lead of the second half on Walker’s 3-pointer from two steps behind the line with 7:09 left in the fourth.
“Obviously, we needed to stop that losing streak, but we also played a good half of basketball, which we haven’t seen in a while,” Walker said. “Hopefully we can use it as a springboard.”
The Kings were forced to change their starting lineup for the first time this season, inserting Gerald Wallace into Stojakovic’s spot. Wallace, a disappointment so far this season, responded with 13 points in the first half, finishing with 16 and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Sacramento took an 18-point lead in the first half with crisp passing and surprisingly good team defense on Nowitzki—but Dallas made a 19-4 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter when Sacramento’s defense collapsed.
Bobby Jackson was terrible for the Kings, shooting 4-of-18 despite many openlooks at the basket.
Notes
Finley didn’t make a shot until the final minute of the third quarter, missing nine straight, but finished with 12 points on 3-of-15 shooting. … The Kings had the NBA’s best record entering the game, but they hadn’t faced fellow West powerhouses Dallas, San Antonio or the Los Angeles Lakers this season. … About 90 percent of the fans in Sacramento’s 196th consecutive sellout crowdwore white shirts to present a visual treat in the nationally televised game.
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