Mavs make it 22 straight at home over Kings in 2-OT thriller
DALLAS (AP) Deron Williams has been back with his hometown Dallas Mavericks for a couple of months now.
He might have finally had his homecoming parade. Or homecoming dogpile, if you will.
Williams hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second overtime, and the Mavericks pulled out a wild 117-116 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night for their 22nd consecutive home victory against the Kings.
Williams took an inbounds pass from Devin Harris with 2.3 seconds left, pump faked to get Rudy Gay to fly by him in the left corner and the ball went in after the horn sounded.
With his shot headed toward the hoop, Williams backpedaled a few steps to his right and bumped Kings coach George Karl back into a seat on the Sacramento bench just as the ball went in. An instant later, teammates swarmed Williams on the court.
''That was definitely my first Mavericks mob scene,'' said the veteran guard, who led Dallas with 25 points and was 3 of 6 from long range. ''I was at the very bottom of the pile, then all of a sudden it went dark and I couldn't breathe.''
Dirk Nowitzki hit an earlier 3 as the Mavericks scored the last eight points after falling behind 116-109 with 1:20 left in the second overtime.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 35 for his third straight 30-point game for the Kings, including a buzzer-beating layup for a 98-all tie at the end of regulation.
Former Dallas guard Rajon Rondo was out with back spasms in his first visit since an acrimonious split after an ill-fated half-season with the Mavericks.
Dallas' run against Sacramento is the second-longest current streak versus one team in the NBA behind San Antonio's 32-game run against Golden State, according to STATS.
The Kings haven't won a regular-season game in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003, when they won 126-124 in overtime. Sacramento did win a game in Dallas during a five-game playoff series victory over the Mavericks in 2004.
The Kings just missed out on snapping the long Dallas skid a night after winning in Oklahoma City for the first time in 15 tries.
''I think it was an incredible game,'' Cousins said. ''There were big shots from them, big shots from us. I guess it was just whoever made the biggest shot. It was a good game. It was a fun game.''
Cousins, who had an odd triple-double with 17 rebounds and 10 turnovers, also had a big blocked shot on Zaza Pachulia in the second extra period. Gay, who scored 31 points, hit a 3-pointer at the other end for a 116-109 lead with 1:20 left.
But after Williams hit a layup, Nowitzki, who scored 23 and got hot after missing his first four shots of the fourth quarter, made a long 3 over Cousins to make it a two-point game.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle decided to let the Kings run the clock with just a 2-second difference from the game clock.
After former Dallas guard Darren Collison threw up an airball to make the shot clock expire, the Mavericks got a chance to set up the final play for Williams, who started for the first time since straining his left hamstring Dec. 22 against Toronto. He missed four games and came off the bench for two.
''When you're down seven with 1:20 to go, you have to pitch a perfect game,'' Carlisle said. ''The odds are 1 in 100 that you can actually do it, but you've got to have belief.''
Marco Belinelli hit a pair of 3s in the final minute of regulation, the latter pulling the Kings even at 96 with 13 seconds left. After Williams sank a floating layup with 2.1 seconds to go, Cousins took an inbounds pass from Belinelli and made a driving layup just before the buzzer.
Rondo avoided any pregame boos by sneaking to the Sacramento bench in his game sweatsuit while the arena was dark during Dallas introductions. Few seemed to notice when he walked to the locker room at halftime after a friendly exchange with a couple of members of Carlisle's staff.
The NBA's assists leader clashed several times with Carlisle after arriving in a midseason trade with Boston. The fractious relationship was finished when Carlisle said Rondo had a back injury and wouldn't play for Dallas again two games into a five-game loss to Houston in the first round of the playoffs last April.
Rondo faced the Mavericks for the first time this season in a 112-98 victory at Sacramento in November. He had 21 points and five assists.
KARL OVER PHIL
Kings coach George Karl passed Phil Jackson for fifth place on the NBA's career list for regular-season victories with his 1,156th against the Thunder. ''I'm not sure I look at myself as a talented person. I look at myself as a lucky person,'' Karl said.
TIP-INS
Kings: Belinelli was 4 of 13 from 3-point range and finished with 14 points. Collison also had 14 on 6-of-14 shooting. ... Rookie C Willie Cauley-Stein sat out after cutting his right middle finger on the backboard in Oklahoma City. It was his second game back after missing a month with a dislocated right index finger.
Mavericks: Carlisle passed Chuck Daly for 21st on the coaching list with his 639th victory. The late Flip Saunders ranks 20th with 654. ... C JaVale McGee had season highs of 13 points and 11 rebounds. ... Wesley Matthews scored 20 points. Pachulia had nine points and 17 rebounds. ... Chandler Parsons left with a right hip injury in the second half.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host the Lakers on Thursday.
Mavericks: At New Orleans on Wednesday.
