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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. Aaron Sanchez Jersey . Browns advice worked. Irving scored 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 88-82 Saturday night. Irving made his first shot of the night on a layup a little over three minutes into the game. Michael Brantley Jersey . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. https://www.cheapastros.com/1933o-cionel-perez-jersey-astros.html . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). Collin McHugh Astros Jersey .Y. -- The Detroit Red Wings had just enough time to salvage a point. Jack Mayfield Jersey . The league-leading New York Rangers outhit and outmuscled the Maple Leafs during a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Backup goalie Martin Biron stopped all 20 shots he faced to complete a nice workmanlike effort by the visitors.ANAHEIM, Calif. - Howie Kendrick knows how difficult it is to hit home runs at Angel Stadium at night. Two of his drives against Nick Martinez didnt make it past the warning track. Kendrick got another chance in the 10th inning and hit an RBI double to give Los Angeles a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night. Josh Hamilton started the rally with an infield single against Neal Cotts (2-4), and Kendrick greeted Jason Frasor with a drive to the fence in left-centre on a 3-2 pitch with the runner going. "Right there, I was just trying to stay honest. I didnt know whether he was going to throw me a fastball or not, because hes got a split also," Kendrick said. "So I was just trying to see the ball up. They were playing me to the opposite field, so there was a big gap in left-centre. I put a good swing on it and hit it in the right spot." Mike Morin (1-1) pitched one inning for his first major league victory, striking out three and hitting a batter. Jered Weaver allowed a run and four hits through eight innings, struck out five and walked two. The three-time All-Star left with a 2-1 lead after C.J. Crons leadoff homer in the eighth, but Kevin Jepsen promptly surrendered a home run to centre field by Shin-Soo Choo on his second pitch in the ninth. Jepsen, who has only three saves in six full big-league seasons, was given the chance to close by manager Mike Scioscia just two days after Ernesto Frieri gave up a walkoff grand slam to Clevelands Nick Swisher in the 10th inning of a 5-3 loss. Cam Bedrosian, who took the loss in that game, was optioned to Double-A Arkansas before Saturdays contest after giving up nine runs, eight hits and seven walks in 5 2-3 innings over his first six big-league appearances. Nick Martinez allowed two runs and three hits in seven-plus innings after retiring his first 15 batters. The 23-year-old right-hander gave a needed boost to a beleaguered pitching staff that had surrendered 10 or more hits in six straight games — the teams longest such streak since a nine-game stretch in August 2008. Martinez recorded 10 of his first 15 outs on fly balls — including two by Kendrick that were caught on the warning track — and another deep drive by Cron. "Thats the nature of this ballpark. You love it and hate it, but its not going to change for me or anybody else," Kendrick said. "Ive been playing here for a while, so you come to expect those things sometimes. The biggest thing is just going up there and tryingg to put good at-bats together and put good swings on the ball.dddddddddddd" Hank Conger broke up Martinezs perfect string with an opposite-field double into the left-field corner on a 2-1 count leading off the sixth and scored on a groundout by Efren Navarro that tied it 1-all. "Martinez threw a heck of a game on their side. I didnt know if we were going to get to him or not, but we were able to squeak one across," Weaver said. Weaver pitched with runners on base in four of the first five innings and didnt get his first strikeout until fanning Brad Snyder to open the fifth. Designated hitter Alex Rios, who came in 4 for 25 against the right-hander, led off the second with a double and was stranded at third when Robinson Chrinos popped out and Michael Choice grounded out. Choo led off the fourth with a grounder toward the hole that went under second baseman Kendricks glove for an error, but he kept going and was thrown out by right fielder Kole Calhoun. "If he gets to second there, that would have made all the difference in the game. So for Kole to come up with a big play there was huge," Weaver said. "Hes scrappy and he plays with a lot of emotion on his sleeve, and hes shown what hes capable of doing — not only on the offensive side but the defensive side as well." Adrian Beltre followed with a single and was erased on a double-play grounder by Rios, who got into an argument with umpire Vic Carapazza about a previous pitch that was called a strike and was ejected. Donnie Murphy replaced him as the designated hitter. Carapazza also ejected Choice in the 10th for arguing balls and strikes after taking back-to-back pitches that appeared to be out of the zone. That ran Texass season total to six ejections. "Hes got a quick trigger finger. He needs to settle down a little bit," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "This is the big leagues. Theres going to be some tension flying around, and hes got to be able to deal with some of that. People are out there competing. Hes got to have some patience. Hes got to control himself. Its ridiculous." NOTES: Weaver ended a career-worst streak in which he had allowed a home run in seven consecutive starts. ... Angels 1B Albert Pujols missed the game due to pain in his lower back. He felt it while trying to scoring a run in Friday nights 7-3 win. ... Texas 1B-DH Mitch Moreland is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery on his left ankle Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina ' ' '