Kings at Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks put the finishing touches on a season-high six-game homestand when they host the Sacramento Kings on Thursday for the latest edition of a what has been a one-sided series. Although the Kings were triumphant in the first meeting at home in November, the Mavericks won the second encounter Jan. 5 to extend their home winning streak in the series to 22 games.
That is the longest run at home against any opponent in Dallas' franchise history and it dates to Sacramento's last road win versus the Mavericks on Feb. 27, 2003. Dallas is 4-1 on the homestand and is averaging 123.7 points over the last three contests - all victories - while maintaining the sixth position in the Western Conference. That puts it eight games ahead of the Kings, who have hurt their chances of sneaking into the playoff picture with four straight losses. Sacramento rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit before falling 104-98 at Memphis on Wednesday.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE KINGS (24-35): Forward Rudy Gay has missed two straight games with a sore shoulder while Quincy Acy was given another start - his sixth in a row - and finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Acy has reached double digits in three of his last four games after hitting that mark twice in his first 32 contests. He is 17-of-25 from the floor during the quick burst and hit all four of his shots - including a 3-pointer - in a 12-point, 16-minute effort in the previous meeting with Dallas.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (33-28): According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Dallas' three straight wins with at least 120 points is its first such streak since 2004. Wesley Matthews is averaging 17.8 points on 51.7 percent shooting - including 16-of-35 from 3-point range - during the homestand and Chandler Parsons has posted a scoring average of 24.3 while hitting 11-of-21 triples in the three-game winning streak. Matthews was one of three Mavericks to score at least 20 points (Dirk Nowitzki and Deron Williams were the others) in a 117-116 overtime victory against the Kings earlier this year.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings C DeMarcus Cousins has four straight double-doubles but is shooting 38.3 percent in the stretch.
2. Sacramento PG Rajon Rondo is averaging 14.3 assists in a nine-game span.
3. Dallas has won 22 of the last 25 games overall versus Sacramento.