NBA Recap Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks | March 3, 2016 | Highlights
DALLAS (AP)
Rajon Rondo hoped for cheers but probably knew better going into his first game in
Dallas since an ugly split with the
Mavericks last season.
The
Sacramento guard heard plenty of boos - almost every time he touched the ball - until the fourth quarter, when some in the crowd headed home with the
Kings up by double digits on their way to ending a 22-game regular-season losing streak on
Rondo's old home floor.
Rondo had 18 points and 12 assists,
DeMarcus Cousins also had a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Kings snapped a four-game losing streak with a 104-101 victory Thursday night.
That shorter skid was the one Rondo wanted to talk about, perhaps just another way to needle the franchise that banished him during a first-round playoff loss to
Houston last April after he clashed several times with coach
Rick Carlisle following a midseason trade.
"We've lost four in a row, playing against another tough team in the
West," Rondo said after just the fifth win in 17 games for Sacramento. "They've been playing well at home as of late so it was a good win for my team."
Chandler Parsons scored 28 to lead the Mavericks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped in the finale of a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Deron Williams hit a buzzer-beating
3-pointer in double-overtime of a January win against Sacramento that kept alive the longest home winning streak in Dallas franchise history. Rondo sat out that night with back spasms, and the Kings squandered a big lead late in the game.
With Rondo on the floor this time, the Kings kept a safe distance until they started missing free throws in the final seconds and almost let Dallas erase a 14-point deficit in the final 5 minutes.
But the Mavericks never got a chance to tie, even after
Marco Belinelli missed two free throws with a 102-99 lead and 10 seconds left.
Parsons and
Wesley Matthews lost the ball while both were going for the rebound, and
Darren Collison ended up with possession, with several players sprawled on the floor chasing the loose ball.
Collison made both free throws after
Williams fouled him with 4.2 seconds left.
"
It's disappointing, but we didn't deserve it,"
Carlisle said. "We didn't play well enough."
Rondo repeatedly got to the rim for layups to help direct Sacramento's first regular-season win in Dallas since Feb. 27,
2003. Dribbling out the final seconds of the first half while the crowd booed, Rondo easily beat Williams to the basket for a 50-45 halftime lead.
"We didn't do a good job today keeping him out of the paint,"
Dirk Nowitzki said. "Those pick-and-rolls, he's really smart with it. You've got to somehow find a way to not let him get seven, eight layups in a game. That's too many."
Belinelli had a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points. Collison, another former Dallas
point guard, scored 14.
Nowitzki had 16 points but missed all five of his
3-pointers as the Mavericks went 7 of 29 (24 percent) from beyond the arc and ended a three-game streak of shooting at least 50 percent.
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