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Reserves spark Mavericks to fifth straight win

Nov 21, 2009 - 5:25 AM By DAVID JIMENEZ Associated Press Writer

DALLAS(AP) -- Jason Terry is accustomed to carrying the load for the Dallas bench.

With the Mavericks missing three starters, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year got some much needed help from his fellow reserves Friday night.

Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Dallas got 52 points from the bench and the Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 104-102 for their fifth straight win.

Dallas' reserves scored 25 of the team's 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks beat the Kings for the 12th consecutive time at home.

"The emphasis has been on the bench guys from the start," said Mavericks backup Kris Humphries, who scored 15 points. "It starts with Jason Terry coming off the bench first. We've got to bring energy. It's an important part of the team."

The Mavericks were playing without Shawn Marion (left ankle), Erick Dampier (unknown illness) and Josh Howard (left ankle), the second straight game they've been without three starters.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Drew Gooden pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 15 points and 11 assists.

Nowitzki hit the 20-point mark for the eighth game in a row on 6 of 15 shooting.

The Mavericks were shooting less than 40 percent through three quarters before hitting 13 of 20 in the fourth to hold off the Kings.

"That was a scrappy team," Terry said. "They didn't let us put them away like we wanted to, but we'll take the win."

Sacramento rookie Tyreke Evans had 29 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 10 assists. Beno Udrih added 20 points and Jason Thompson scored 18.

The Kings hit 53 percent of their shots, but was offset by 21 turnovers, which equaled a season high.

"To come in here and have a chance to knock off Dallas and play them the way we did, I was very impressed with our young group," said Sacramento coach Paul Westphal, a former Mavericks assistant. "When we learn to take care of the ball a little bit better, I think we'll come our with our share of wins in these types of games."

Humphries scored 10 in the first half to help give Dallas a 47-42 edge at halftime.

Dallas built a 10-point lead in the third quarter before Sacramento closed the gap in the final 4 minutes. Behind six points from Thompson, the Kings went on a 10-3 spurt to get within 68-65 after three.

"We played hard enough to make a run in the last five minutes," Kings forward Andres Nocioni said. "For a young team like this one, these kinds of games will help us a lot."

Terry had six points in a 12-4 run that gave the Mavericks a cushion in the fourth.

Sacramento cut the deficit to 83-80 on Evans' step back jumper with 5 minutes left, before Terry answered with back-to-back jumpers and spun past Evans to nail a 15-footer and put Dallas ahead 91-82.

Nowitzki, off an assist from Terry, hit a jumper and two free throws to extend the advantage to 95-84 with 2:02 left. Evans hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to bring Sacramento within three, but Terry hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to keep the Kings winless in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003.

"The bench was great." Nowitzki said. "We needed a little pickup there. We were coasting along and couldn't get much going. (Terry) did a good job getting three, four pullups in a row and got the separation we needed."

NOTES: Dampier has been attending games and sitting on the bench in a suit. "We'll know something next week," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "There are still tests to be done. We're going to let this battery of things go on and be absolutely sure of the prognosis." ... Evans reached at least 20 points for a sixth straight game. ... The Kings scored 26 of their first 28 in the paint.