Cousins leads Kings past Mavs
DALLAS -- DeMarcus Cousins flirted with a triple-double to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Dallas Mavericks 120-89 Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
The Kings (8-13) snapped a three-game losing streak and completed a 2-3 road trip with their largest margin of victory (31) this season. Sacramento has also won four of its last five meetings against Dallas.
The first of three matchups this season was iced before the fourth quarter, as the Kings turned a close game at halftime into a rout. Sacramento was up just 56-52 at the break before racing out to as much as 23-point lead in the third.
Cousins recorded his 10th double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds, to go along with seven assists. Rudy Gay scored 19 on 8-of-14 shooting in 31 minutes.
Darren Collison added 19 points. Garrett Temple scored 17 and Omri Casspi had 10 points off the bench.
The Kings shot a season-high 56.0 percent (47-84).
The injury-riddled Mavericks (4-17) have dropped the last two on a four-game homestand that ends Friday against Indiana. Dallas opened the season with a 130-121 overtime loss at the Pacers.
Deron Williams led the Mavs with 20 points and six assists. Wesley Matthews scored 16, all coming in the first half.
Mavericks leading scorer Harrison Barnes missed 11 of 16 shots, scored 11 and had six turnovers. The team turned the ball over a season-high 23 times.
Dallas was without starters Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut, and key reserves J.J. Barea and Seth Curry.
The Kings return home to face New York on Friday. The Knicks beat Sacramento 106-98 on Sunday.
NOTES: Dallas C Andrew Bogut is out 10 days to a month with hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee. "I'll take a couple of days to rest it, ramp up the rehab and see how we go," he said. "It's one of those things that could be three games, five games, or seven games. I don't know." ... C DeMarcus Cousins leads the Kings in 3-pointers made. "He's as big of a matchup problem at the center position as I've seen in some time," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Just because now he effectively shoots 3s, he's a beast on the inside, he can shoot midrange. and he's a great passer and an unselfish player." ... The return date of Dallas G Seth Curry (right knee strain) remains uncertain.