DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks cant seem to turn comfortable leads into easy wins, even with their playoff fate on the line against teams going nowhere. They avoided what would have been a damaging letdown against Sacramento on Saturday night. Nowitzki scored 19 points, including eight in the fourth quarter when the Mavericks wiped out a five-point deficit after leading by 17 in the first half and held on to beat the Kings 103-100. "Its unfortunate its been part of our DNA, and I just feel like were going to snap out of it," said coach Rick Carlisle, whose team has lost six games after leading by at least 16 points this season. "And I know we have to. So Im a very positive thinker on this." The Mavericks beat Sacramento at home for the 20th straight time in the regular season, the longest against any opponent in franchise history. Dallas (44-30) is in a virtual tie with Memphis (43-29) for eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Phoenix. The Mavericks have eight games left and finish the regular season at the Grizzlies. Rudy Gay scored 30 for the Kings. Monta Ellis had 17 points and six assists and Sam Dalembert added 15 as Dallas avoided a second loss to a West also-ran on a franchise-record eight-game homestand that ends Tuesday night against Golden State, the fourth likely playoff-bound opponent in five games. "Weve got to push it," Dalembert said. "We have to go out every night and fight, try to get anything we can get and see if we can get that second chance." The Kings were up 89-84 after a jumper from Jason Thompson when Jose Calderon started a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer and Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws for a tie. Shawn Marion made two more free throws to put Dallas back in front, then knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner for a 94-89 lead. Marion finished with 14 points. Sacramento had a chance to tie in the final seconds after Ellis missed two free throws, but Travis Outlaws 3-pointer was short just before the buzzer. "We played a lot harder, a lot more physical, in the second half," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. "But we dont want to be having to get down by 17 to do it." Gay, who had 35 points in another close loss at the Mavericks in January, led Sacramentos push for its first regular-season win in Dallas since Feb. 27, 2003. The Kings won a playoff game in Dallas in 2004 when they eliminated the Mavericks in five games in the first round. Gay tipped in his own miss for the Kings first lead at 81-80 with 7:26 remaining in the game and muscled in a bucket after Ray McCallum missed a layup. Gay also had seven rebounds. With Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas missing his third straight game with a right thigh contusion, McCallum became the first NBA player this season to go the full 48 minutes. He has played six straight quarters over two nights after going the entire second half of a loss at Oklahoma City. McCallum, who had 16 points and eight assists, was briefly the only guard available when fellow rookie Ben McLemore left with what he said was a mild knee injury in the third quarter before returning in the fourth. "I felt fine the whole entire game," said McCallum, who has averaged 45 minutes per game in his three career starts with Thomas sidelined. "I knew with Isaiah being out, I would play more. I took a challenge to keep the team in the game and run the offence." McLemore had ice on both knees and his left shoulder after the game, but said he was fine. Nowitzki led the Mavericks with seven rebounds and tied Calderon for the team lead with seven assists. Reggie Evans had a season-high 18 rebounds for Sacramento, and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists despite sitting most of the third quarter with four fouls. NOTES: Kings coach Michael Malone said Thomas might play Monday at New Orleans. ... Kings F Jason Thompson got a technical for complaining about a foul called against him on a three-point play by Marion. It contributed to a seven-point spurt in just 26 seconds that gave Dallas a 50-33 lead late in the first half. ... Ellis has been willing to take charges all season, never better illustrated that early in the third quarter when the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins dribbled the length of the floor before plowing through the 6-3, 185-pound Ellis under the basket. Clearance Football Jerseys Throwback . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. Discount Football Jerseys Throwback . General manager David Poile called signing Ribeiro a great opportunity to add a talented, experienced and creative centre Tuesday when he introduced the veteran at a news conference. Ribeiros contract is worth $1.05 million after being bought out of the final three years of a $22 million contract by the Coyotes recently. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. Football Jerseys Throwback Outlet .The other side of the Bruins special teams unit delivered in the end.Gregory Campbell netted the game-winner with less than 10 minutes remaining and the Bruins fended off a late four-minute San Jose power play to earn a wild 5-3 win over the Sharks. Cheap Football Jerseys Throwback China . Meeks has agreed to a $19.5 million, three-year deal with Detroit, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because free agents cant sign contracts until the leagues moratorium ends July 10, also said Cartier Martin had agreed to a one-year contract with the rebuilding franchise.A Jets winger flying high, strong Senators goaltending and a Bruins defenceman stepping up when needed; lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Evander Kane – The Jets left winger returned to action last week and delivered his best game of the season last night against Pittsburgh. He notched a Gordie Howe Hat Trick (goal, assist, fight against Penguins D Simon Despres), and generated 13 shot attempts, with six shots on goal in Winnipeg’s 4-3 shootout loss to Pittsburgh. Craig Anderson – The Ottawa goaltender moved into the league lead with a .948 save percentage following his 35-save shutout against Minnesota. It was the fourth time this season that the Wild, who have a 7-5 record, have lost a game while outshooting their opponent by double digits. Dougie Hamilton – Taking on a bigger role on the injury-ravaged Boston blueline, Hamilton led the Bruins to a 5-2 win over Edmonton, tallying a goal and two assists. Hamilton has 10 points in 15 games this season, playing a career-high 22:51 per game, and his 57.2% Corsi is best among Boston’s regulars on the blueline (minimum 100 5-on-5minutes). Bruins Blueline Regulars BRUINS D CORSI% CORSIREL% Dougie Hamilton 57.2% +4.3% Zdeno Chara 56.7% +2.6% Torey Krug 54.3% +1.6% Dennis Seidenberg 53.9% -0.8% Adam McQuaid 50.5% -6.3% ZEROES Senators Second Line – It was during a 3-0 win, so there are likely some score effects involved, but Ottawa’s line of LW Milan Michalek, C Mika Zibanejad and RW Alex Chiasson was locked in its own end against Minnesota. Michalek(1 shot attempts for, 13 against, 7.1%) was worst of the bunch, followed by Zibanejad (1 for, 12 against, 7.7%) and Chiasson (2 for, 11 against, 15.4%). Zibanejad, Michalek and fellow Sens forwards David Legwand and Mark Stone did not register a single shot attempt between them. Stars Not Shining – Veteran C Shawn Horcoff and LW Erik Cole were boxed into their own zone against Nashville, with Horcoff (5 for, 23 against, 17.9%) and Cole (4 for, 18 against, 18.2%) running into the most trouble when matched against the Predators’ top line of C Mike Ribeiro, LW Filip Forsberg and RW James Neal. Mikael Granlund – Despite starting 87.5% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone at Ottawa, the Wild centre was held without a single shot attempt in 19:30 of ice time. SHORT SHIFTS Blues RW Vladimir Tarasenko and LW Jaden Schwartz each had a goal and an assist at New Jersey. Tarasenko now has eight goals and 11 points in the past six games…Bruins C Carl Soderberg and RW Loui Eriksson and RW Reilly Smith each had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Edmonton. Soderberg is Boston’s leading scorer, with 12 points in 15 games…Penguins agitator Steve Downie had a goal and an assist in 8:52 of ice time and C Brandon Sutter had a goal and two assists in a 4-3 shootout win at Winnipeg…Senators rookie LW Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Minnesota. Hoffman’s 12.82 shots per 60 minutes is far-and-away best on the Sens. With a goal and an assist at Colorado, Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel is within one point of Penguins C Sidney Crosby and Flyers RW Jakub Voracek for the league scoring lead…Islanders G Chad Johnson stopped 28 of 29 shots in a 2-1 shootout win at Los Angeles…Canucks G Ryan Miller stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 3-2 win at San Jose…Kings LW Marian Gaborik was held without a shot attempt in 16:47 vs. the Islanders. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Justin Williams – Los Angeles’ possession ace is dealing with an eye injury, so the Kings inserted Jordan Nolan to the top line, with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, against the Islanders. Paul Stastny – Returned to the Blues lineup for his first game in three weeks and didn’t register a shot attempt in 15:37 of ice time, playing mostly with Alexander Steen and Joakim Lindstrom, at New Jersey.dddddddddddd Morgan Rielly – The second-year rearguard was a healthy scratch in Colorado Thursday, making room for rookie Stuart Percy in the lineup. Jake Gardiner – The Maple Leafs defenceman suffered a bone bruise on his knee after blocking a shot, and was forced to leave after playing 2:55 at Colorado. As a result, Dion Phaneuf played 31:07, his most in a regular-season game since January 26, 2013. Roman Polak played 28:12, his highest time on ice since January 2, 2009. Daniel Winnik – A recent addition to Toronto’s top line, Winnik lasted one shift at Colorado before falling awkwardly after a neutral zone hit and requiring a stretcher to leave the ice. With Winnik out, the Leafs gave Leo Komaro and Richard Panik opportunities to play with Kessel and Nazem Kadri. Ryane Clowe – The Devils winger left Thursday night’s game against St. Louis with an injury and the Devils aren’t providing additional information. If Clowe is out for some time, the Devils may have to dip into their farm system, having already promoted wingers Steve Bernier and Mike Sislo. Adam Henrique – Tied for the Devils’ scoring lead, with nine points in 12 games, Henrique is out with a lower-body injury. Ales Hemsky – Played a season-high 18:34 for the Stars as Dallas shuffled up lines, moving Patrick Eaves to the top line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, while Hemsky skated with Jason Spezza and Valeri Nichushkin. Avalanche Deployment - It may be a mere one-game statistical oddity, but the Avalanche started fourth-liners Marc-Andre Cliche, Cody McLeod and Maxime Talbot in the offensive zone for more than 60% of their shifts against the Maple Leafs, while Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Jarome Iginla started 27.2% of their even-strength shifts in the offensive zone. That doesn’t seem to be optimal asset utilization. FIRSTS Cedric Paquette – The Lightning rookie centre scored the first two goals of his career in a 5-2 win over Calgary. Iiro Pakarinen – The 23-year-old Oilers right winger played in his first NHL game, after putting up eight points in seven AHL games, and played all of 5:50 in Boston. A seventh-round pick of the Panthers in 2011, Pakarinen was signed by the Oilers as a free agent in the summer, after scoring 20 goals and 30 points in 60 games for HIFK of the Finnish League last season. Keith Kinkaid – The 25-year-old out of Union College made his NHL debut, playing 10 minutes in relief of Cory Schneider against St. Louis. The Devils have sent vet Scott Clemmensen to the AHL and are giving Kinkaid, who had a .931 save percentage in his first six games of the season for Albany (AHL), a shot at the backup role. Mike Sislo – An undrafted free agent out of the University of New Hampshire, Sislo has played three-plus years in the AHL for the Devils and registered his first career NHL point, in his 15th career game, with an assist against St. Louis Thursday. FANTASY FOCUS A few players in action tonight that you may want in your lineup: Tom Wilson – He’s known for his toughness, but the second-year winger has three points in the past two games and is playing more for the Capitals, with a recent move to the top line, with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, a particularly enticing opportunity. Elias Lindholm – The second-year Hurricanes centre is starting to produce, with five points in the past three games, and he’s played more than 16 minutes in four of the past five games. Tomas Tatar – Hasn’t recorded an assist yet this season, and had only one goal through nine games, but has lit the lamp three times in the past four games, splitting time between lines with Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader or Riley Sheahan and Gustav Nyquist. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '