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DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki is an All-Star again, and the big German is playing like he did when he went to 11 straight midseason showcases. Nowitzki scored 34 points and the Dallas Mavericks held off Sacramento 107-103 Friday night, handing the Kings their sixth straight loss in another game without leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins. The 35-year-old had his second straight 30-point game for the first time in nearly two years and helped the Mavericks rally in the fourth quarter after they squandered a double-digit lead in the first half and fell behind by 14 in the third. "Ive been in a good groove," said Nowitzki, who was named an All-Star reserve Thursday after his long streak of appearances ended last season when he missed the first 27 games after knee surgery. "Before the last three, I didnt really have a good groove." Rudy Gay scored 35 to lead the Kings, who have the worst record in the Western Conference at 15-31 and were without Cousins for the fifth straight game because of a sprained left ankle. He is likely to miss his sixth straight in San Antonio on Saturday night. "We have to learn how to be a winning team," said Gay, who had 18 at halftime by making all six shots from the field and 6 of 7 free throws. "We just have to play a whole solid game. Thats what we need to do for us to get off that slide were on right now." Nowitzki backed up his 12th All-Star nod while Cousins had to sit out a chance to show he belonged in the Feb. 16 game. The fourth-year centre is in the top 10 in the league in scoring and rebounding. "Theres always guys that deserve it," said Nowitzki, whos in his 16th season. "Maybe this is my last hurrah." Brandan Wright had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, including a floater in the lane that put the Mavericks ahead for good at 96-94. Dallas was up 102-100 after a bucket by Gay with 24 seconds left. But the Kings didnt foul right away, and Vince Carter found Monta Ellis underneath for a three-point play. Sacramento was still within two after a 3-pointer by Marcus Thornton, but Ellis made a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game with 4.6 seconds left. Ellis was in his worst three-game scoring slump of the season and didnt have a point most of the first half before getting 11 in the fourth quarter and finishing with 20. "It was one of those nights where he could have easily gotten frustrated, but he didnt," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "He just kept playing the whole game and it came around." The Mavericks, who couldnt hold a double-digit lead in the first half, went back in front with a 9-0 run capped by a pair of free throws from Nowitzki for an 89-87 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Kings matched their longest skid of the season despite starting the second half with a 17-3 run that included consecutive 3-pointers from Isaiah Thomas, who scored 13 in the third quarter but was held to two points on 1-of-7 shooting in the fourth. Thomas finished with 19, but he and Gay were the only double-figure scorers for the Kings. "Im frustrated with myself because my shots not falling," Thomas said. "DeMarcus makes things a lot easier for me. Hopefully he gets back soon." Sacramentos lead grew to 14 on a layup by Aaron Gray before the Mavericks finished the third on an 11-3 run highlighted by Ellis steal and breakaway dunk that got the deficit back under 10 at 78-70. The Mavericks played without Shawn Marion, who has lingering soreness from shoulder and ribs injuries sustained in early January. He missed the first four games after getting injured. NOTES: Dallas Jose Calderon and Thomas were called for a double technical when Calderon went to the floor away from the ball after making contact with Thomas. Calderon got up yelling at Thomas and kept going after a whistle stopped play, leading to the technical. The pair had a friendly halftime chat mediated by referee Tony Brothers. ... Nowitzki had his third career game of at least 38 points and 17 rebounds in Wednesdays loss to Houston. The Mavericks won the other two. ... The Mavericks recalled G Ricky Ledo from the NBA Development League before the game and sent him back down afterward. . With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. .C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important goals, just not in back-to-back games. . "Im not even that added up," the 39-year-old Australian replied. And to the Hall of Famers surprise, when all the math was done Sunday in the JTBC Founders Cup, she was the one posing for pictures with the big trophy. . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said. . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season.DETROIT -- Chris Sale figures his arm injury could have been a lot worse. The Chicago White Sox believe Sale has a strained muscle in his throwing arm, and the ace left-hander was officially put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. There does not appear to be any ligament damage. "Yesterday was as good a news as we could have possibly gotten," Sale said Tuesday. "I think just with kind of the way spring training and the year has unfolded for a lot of pitchers, maybe I (was) a little bit more nervous, just because you dont know." Matt Moore, Kris Medlen, Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez are among the pitchers who have been dealing with significant elbow problems this year, and Sale doesnt appear to be joining that hard-luck group after undergoing an MRI. "First words out of the doctors mouth was, The UCL looks excellent," Sale said. "I heard UCL was excellent, and I walked out. Its about all I needed to hear." Sale said this is similar to an issue he dealt with in 2012, and he "absolutely" expects to be back once hes eligible to come off the DL. The move is retroactive to last Friday. The White Sox recalled left-hander Charlie Leesman from Triple-A Charlotte to start in Sales place against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Chicago also assigned right-hander Frank Francisco tto Charlotte after a stint at extended spring training.dddddddddddd He signed a minor league deal April 14. The White Sox have already been dealing with their share of injuries this year. Outfielder Adam Eaton is day to day with a left hamstring strain, and infielder Conor Gillaspie was out of the starting lineup Tuesday with what he described as a minor issue with his left hand. Second baseman Gordon Beckham is out with a strained left oblique, reliever Nate Jones has a strained left hip, and outfielder Avisail Garcia was lost for the season with a torn labrum. So the White Sox can deal with Sales injury if its a relatively minor one. "Youre always concerned when somebody says theyre feeling something different than they normally do," manager Robin Ventura said. "Theres just a relief thats there, and you can tell by the way hes walking around today and talking, he feels pretty good." The 25-year-old Sale is 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA on the season. He threw 127 pitches in a loss to Boston on Thursday, but he wasnt about to put too much blame on that for his injury. "Obviously, this early in the season, it could have something to do with it, but I dont put too much emphasis on pitch count," Sale said. "Whos to say if Id have thrown 18 less pitches that it would have been any better?" ' ' '
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