Mavericks at Kings
The Dallas Mavericks' streak of 12 straight postseason appearances is nearing an end, barring a stunning turn of events over the final seven games. The Mavericks absorbed a last-second loss in Denver on Thursday night to fall three games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff slot in the Western Conference. Dallas is also 2 1/2 games back of Utah entering Friday's game at the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento has lost the first two of its current five-game homestand. The Kings have played a string of contenders over the past month and held their own, knocking off Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State while suffering narrow losses to the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento has lost four straight and 14 of 15 to Dallas.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Southwest (Dallas), Comcast SportsNet California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (36-39): Dallas appeared it would escape with a victory when Denver's Kenneth Faried missed two free throws in the final seconds, but it failed to grab the offensive rebound, leading to the deciding basket. "We gave it away," Mavericks forward Shawn Marion said. "We had our chances to win this game and close it out." Guard O.J. Mayo is mired in a slump, averaging only 6.8 points and shooting 28.2 percent over the last four games.
ABOUT THE KINGS (27-48): Sacramento has something to play for. Two victories in their final four games at Sleep Train Arena will give the Kings their first winning record at home since the 2007-08 season. Forward Jason Thompson seems to have snapped out an offensive funk. After being held to single digits in seven straight games, he has scored 32 points and hit 13-of-22 shots in his last two. He also tied a season high with 15 rebounds on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Dallas has averaged 119.7 points in its three wins over the Kings this season.
2. Sacramento leads the league in scoring (108.1 points) since the All-Star break.
3. Mayo has averaged 17.7 points in the last three matchups with the Kings.