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Carter carries Mavericks in rout of Kings

Feb 14, 2013 - 6:12 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Vince Carter led the way with 26 points as the Dallas Mavericks continued their home dominance over the Sacramento Kings with a 123-100 rout on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.

Carter erupted for 17 points in the third, where he sank 5-of-7 from 3-point range to help Dallas pull away for its 18th straight regular-season home victory over Sacramento.

Darren Collison added 18 points and Dirk Nowitzki followed with 17 in the third win in four games for the Mavericks, who still have a lot of work to do to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since the 1999-00 campaign.

"All in all I thought we had a good team win," said Collison. "We really needed it before the break desperately, especially losing last game. I thought we did a good job."

Tyreke Evans scored 23 for the Kings, who have dropped consecutive games on the heels of a two-game winning streak. DeMarcus Cousins totaled 17 points and 13 boards in defeat.

The teams remained within striking distance of one another for most of the first 18 minutes of play, but the Mavericks began to create separation late in the second following a 20-6 run.

Collison, who scored eight during the surge, completed a three-point play before knocking down a triple in between a pair of Nowitzki jumpers, which put the Mavs ahead 59-42 with 53.8 seconds remaining until halftime.

After falling behind by as many as 18 in the third, the Kings put together a 17-6 run to come within 73-66, but Carter then became unconscious from 3-point range for Dallas to push the lead back to double-digits.

In the final 4:38 of the third, Carter buried five triples, with his last giving the Mavericks a 92-77 edge heading into the final quarter.

The Kings seemed to deflate after Carter's surge, as Jae Crowder, Nowitzki and Mike James each followed suit with triples early in the final frame to build Dallas' advantage up to 26.

"Dallas played a great game and won the game," said Kings coach Keith Smart. "We had a stretch where we played good basketball. Obviously Vince Carter getting hot and made a bunch of plays and three point shots. Then it started raining. Once you start making threes, everyone starts making them."

Sacramento never came closer than 17 points the rest of the way in dropping its sixth consecutive game away from home.

Game Notes

Carter (21,796) passed Larry Bird (21,791) for 29th on the all-time scoring list ... Dallas has beaten Sacramento in 14 of the last 15 meetings overall ... The Kings are just 5-23 on the road this season ... Sacramento has not won in Dallas during the regular season since Feb. 27, 2003 ... The Mavericks have won the first three contests of the season with the Kings, with the last game scheduled for April 5th in Sacramento.