Plauderecke » e Rockets ended the half on an 8-2 spurt and took a

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- With go-to scorer Dirk Nowitzki having an off night, the Dallas Mavericks relied on other offensive options to hold off the Sacramento Kings. Monta Ellis scored eight of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks kept their playoff position with their third straight win, a 93-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. The Mavericks won for the fourth time in five games to maintain seventh place in the Western Conference. It was the fifth straight road win for Dallas, which concludes its four-game road trip Tuesday in Utah. "Every game is a playoff game right now," Dallas reserve centre DeJuan Blair said. The Kings defeated Dallas at home earlier this season and their three straight losses have been by a combined nine points. So with Nowitzki getting 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting, the Mavericks had to look elsewhere for a reliable scorer. It was Ellis who stepped up in a tight fourth quarter. He made a crucial 3-pointer and converted all three free throws when Dallas was clinging to its slim lead down the stretch. Ellis made a 3 at the 3:04 mark of the fourth quarter and converted a three-point play to give the Mavericks a 90-84 lead with 1:51 left. "Monta saved the day in the fourth quarter," Nowitzki said. "He made that huge 3 and then he had the and-one (three-point play) on a pick and roll. He was phenomenal in the fourth quarter." Rudy Gay had 32 points and tied a career high with eight assists for the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins added 28 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie point guard Ray McCallum had eight points and nine rebounds. The Kings played their sixth straight game without starting point guard Isaiah Thomas (right quadriceps contusion), who is averaging 20.7 points and 6.4 assists per game. "The Kings match up tough against us," said Blair, who had six points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes. "They have played us three tough games." Vince Carter scored 17 points and Jose Calderon hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points for the Mavericks, who made 13 threes. Nowitzki, who shot 64 per cent and averaged 28.7 points in his previous three games, missed eight of his first 10 shots. Following a timeout early in the third quarter, Nowitzki hit a 19-footer and soon after made a 3-pointer. "Obviously, their backs are up against the wall right now. They know they need every game they can get to get into the post-season," Gay said. "We went into this game knowing that we didnt have anything to lose. They are going to play a lot of teams that dont have anything to lose. For them to stay competitive, its going to be tough for them." The Kings fouled Ellis intentionally and he made two free throws to put Dallas in front 92-87 with 24 seconds left. McCallums layup and two free throws by Gay pulled the Kings to within one point. But Nowitzki hit one of two foul shots and Cousins was short on a baseline jumper in the closing seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. "I still think we had an opportunity to make something happen," Cousins said. "But I am kind of disappointed in myself for settling for a shot like that. I could have gotten a lot better shot than that." The teams swapped misses before Gays three-point play pulled the Kings within three points with 26 seconds left. Cousins made a driving shot in traffic to put Sacramento ahead 77-75 with 6:51 to go in the fourth. Consecutive 3s by Carter and another by Shawn Marion put Dallas ahead 84-79 with 4:20. Trailing for much of the third quarter, Ellis had three transition baskets and Calderon made a 3 to help Dallas outscore the Kings 11-4 in the final 3:15 to take a 68-65 lead into the fourth. "We knew it was going to be a dog fight, but the good thing is we stayed together," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The Kings are pretty tough, but we came through. Every game has such a high level of importance. We need to play much better than tonight." NOTES: Cousins had 14 of his 16 first-half points in the first quarter. The Kings led 48-45 at the half. ... Dallas shot 29 per cent in the second quarter and was outscored 24-16. ... Ex-King Peja Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star in Sacramento, sat courtside next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. ... Derrick Williams scored 31 points in an earlier home wins against the Mavericks, but had only five in the rematch. Garrett Bradbury Womens Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. Paul Krause Youth Jersey .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. http://www.authenticvikingspro.com/Jalyn-holmes-vikings-jersey/ . Henderson (20-3) received winning scores of 48-47 and 49-46, and the other judge scored it 48-47 for Thomson (20-6). The announcement drew boos from the United Center crowd. "Train this hard for this long, its such a long camp and I see my title shot disappear," said Thomson, who fought most of the fight with a broken right hand. Randy Moss Womens Jersey .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport. Cris Carter Vikings Jersey . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week.Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden poured in 30 points and led a long-distance barrage that carried the Houston Rockets to a 113-99 win over the slumping Brooklyn Nets. The Rockets rolled to their fourth consecutive victory on the strength of a 16-of-40 display from 3-point range, with Harden knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc and Trevor Ariza going 3-of-5 in a 12-point effort. Donatas Motiejunas contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds to the triumph, with Josh Smith chipping in 13 points off the bench for Houston. Brooklyn dropped its season-high sixth straight despite a big game from Mason Plumlee, who tallied a career-high 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. Jarrett Jack and Bojan Bogdanovic each finished with 13 points in defeat. Every game the turnovers are hurting us and the missed shots are hurting us, said Nets head coach Lionel Hollins, whose team committed 16 giveaways. If youre not putting up 95, 100 shots, every turnover matters. Every missed shot matters. Nets forward Kevin Garnett played just four-plus minutes before being ejected for an altercation with Dwight Howard with 7:53 left in the first quarter. Howard received a technical foul for the incident. Houston started out red-hot, hitting its first seven shots en route to jumping out to a 23-14 lead. Tempers were heated as well, as Howard and Garnett were tangled underneath the basket during one stage of the stretch when the Brooklyn veteran tossed the ball at Howards direction after the All-Star center gave him a mild shove. The two then stepped towards one another, with Garnett delivering aa head butt to Howards jaw and the latter retaliating with an open right hand to the face before both players were ultimately restrained.dddddddddddd In the good old days, that was a play-on. Now, they throw people out, said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale of the skirmish. I didnt think it was a big deal. After order was restored, Houston was up by as many as 11 in the first quarter and owned a 37-28 advantage at periods end behind Hardens 15 points. The Nets cut into the deficit in the second, putting forth an 11-3 run to pull within 50-48 on a trey from Joe Johnson. However, the Rockets ended the half on an 8-2 spurt and took a 60-52 lead into the break following a Harden triple. Houston extended the margin in the third quarter with a strong showing from the perimeter. Motiejunas and Harden stroked back-to-back 3-pointers early in the frame to increase the lead to 68-54, and the margin later swelled to 18 after triples from Harden and Smith were part of a 7-2 stretch that made the score 86-68 in the stanzas final minute. The Rockets were in front by as much as 23 points several times in the fourth quarter, the last at 104-81 midway through the period before Brooklyn scored eight straight to close the gap. Game Notes Brooklyn went just 5-of-21 on 3-point attempts ... Harden ended 9-of-13 from the field, while Motiejunas made eight of his 11 shots ... The Nets played their third straight game without point guard Deron Williams, sidelined by a fractured rib ... Houston had won 14 straight in the series prior to a 105-96 loss in Brooklyn on April 1 of last season. ' ' '