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Howard, Mavericks aim for seventh straight win

Jan 14, 2008 - 3:15 PM Dallas (26-11) at Sacramento (14-21) 10:00 pm EST

SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) - Josh Howard returns to the lineup after a one game absence on Monday when the Dallas Mavericks try for a seventh straight win against the Sacramento Kings.

Howard, who leads the Mavericks with 20.7 points per game, missed Saturday's 95-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers due to personal reasons.

Despite the absence of Howard, the Mavericks were able to stay hot thanks to Jerry Stackhouse, who scored 13 points and hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Stackhouse's clutch shot helped Dallas to its longest winning streak since winning nine straight from March 16-30 of last season.

The Mavericks hope to stay hot behind Howard, who scored 27 points in a 123-102 win over Los Angeles on November 3.

Meanwhile, the Kings had their two-game winning streak snapped with a 111-105 loss to Indiana on Saturday.

Sacramento, which has been ravaged by injuries, got some good news on Saturday as its leading scorer Kevin Martin returned from a groin injury. Martin scored 25 points off the bench after missing 17 games with the injury.

The Kings, who have lost six straight to Dallas, are still without point guard Mike Bibby (thumb) and Ron Artest (elbow).