Behind strong bench play, Mavericks beat Kings 104-102 for fifth straight victory

Reserves spark Mavericks to fifth straight win

DALLAS — Jason Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Dallas got 52 points from the bench and the Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 104-102 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.

Dallas’ reserves scored 25 of the team’s 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks beat the Kings for the 12th consecutive time at home.

Terry had six points in a 12-4 run that gave the Mavericks a cushion in the fourth.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Drew Gooden pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds, and Jason Kidd and reserve Kris Humphries each added 15 points.

Sacramento rookie Tyreke Evans had 29 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 10 assists. Beno Udrih added 20 points and Jason Thompson scored 18.

The Mavericks were playing without three starters for the second game in a row. Shawn Marion (left ankle), Erick Dampier (unknown illness) and Josh Howard (left ankle) were out of the lineup.

Humphries scored 10 in the first half to help give Dallas a 47-42 edge at halftime.

Dallas built a 10-point lead in the third quarter before Sacramento closed the gap in the final four minutes of the quarter. Behind six points from Thompson, the Kings went on a 10-3 spurt to get within 68-65 after three.

Sacramento cut the deficit to 83-80 on Evans’ step back jumper with 5 minutes left, before Terry answered with back-to-back jumpers and spun past Evans to nail a 15-footer and put Dallas ahead 91-82.

Nowitzki, off an assist from Terry, hit a jumper and two free throws to extend the advantage to 95-84 with 2:02 left. Evans hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to bring Sacramento within three, but Terry hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to keep the Kings winless in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003.

NOTES: Dampier has been attending games and sitting on the bench in a suit. “We’ll know something next week,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “There are still tests to be done. We’re going to let this battery of things go on and be absolutely sure of the prognosis.” … Evans reached at least 20 points for a sixth straight game. … The Kings scored 26 of their first 28 in the paint.