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. Keelan Cole Jersey . 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. Barry Church Jersey . -- Miguel Angel Jimenez quickly shifted his focus back to the Ryder Cup after winning his first Champions Tour event. Tashaun Gipson Jersey . Cesar said the difficulties he went through after the 2010 World Cup helped him become "a better professional" and made him "more focused" on his career. He admitted that he took things for granted before the World Cup in South Africa, when he arrived considered the worlds top goalkeeper. http://www.jaguarsfansclub.com/ .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. TORONTO -- Randy Carlyle called Nazem Kadris performance Thursday night the best hes seen in a long time. Kadri had three assists extending his point streak to four games as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Florida Panthers 6-3. Nikolai Kulemin one-timed a Kadri feed at the four-minute mark of the third period for the game-winner. The assist was Kadris 100th career N.H.L. point. "Its a great achievement for myself, but hopefully theres a lot more to come," said Kadri, who has two goals and five assists on his current point steak. "You got to think to yourself when the points are coming easy, its just not all about that, you got to make sure youre good in your D zone, bearing down on face-offs and just allow the coaching staff to put you on the ice in those crucial situations." With the Leafs trailing 2-0 in the first, Kadri set up Cody Franson at 16:49 to get Torontos comeback rolling. Then with the Leafs leading 4-2 in the third, the 23-year-old London, Ont. native set up Joffrey Lupul at 6:22, on a power play, for the insurance marker. "Nazy was a difference maker tonight," said Carlyle. "Thats probably the best game hes played in a long time and at both ends of the rink obviously with the points and distributing the puck, that was making some big league plays." Toronto (29-21-6) also got goals from Mason Raymond, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak as they extended their win streak on home ice to five games. Florida (21-26-7) got first period goals from Nick Bjugstad and Sean Bergenheim. Dmitry Kulikov had the other Panthers goal. "When a team comes out after theyve lost the period, theyre probably getting some bad words from the coach," said Kulikov. "We knew they were going to come out strong in the second period and we didnt handle it." Scott Clemmensen made 26 saves for his fifth loss of the season. Jonathan Bernier made 35 saves in the win. Toronto won five in a row on home ice from Oct. 22 to Nov. 19. The Leafs have just two regulation losses in their past 11 gaames. Cam Robinson Jersey. . Florida scored twice on their first seven shots to open a 2-0 lead in the first period. Bjugstad opened the scoring 1:39 into the first, beating Bernier with a backhand blocker side for his 12th goal of the season. Bergenheim finished off a 2-on-1 feed from Brad Boyes at 13:50 to give the Panthers a two-goal lead. The assist was the 250th of Boyes career. "We were kind of stunned," said Carlyle. "The first shot on goal was in our net. It set us back a little bit and we werent really moving our feet. We seemed to find a way to get it going." It was all Toronto after that as the Leafs scored five unanswered goals. After Franson cut Floridas lead in the first, the Leafs scored twice in the first minute of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Raymond scored off the rush, with a wrist shot, glove-side on Clemmensen 27 seconds into the period for his 14th of the season. Van Riemsdyk tipped a Phil Kessel shot past Clemmensen at 57 seconds of the second period, on a power play. With the goal, van Riemsdyk surpassed his previous single-season goals total of 21 set during the 2010-11 season while he was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. Bozak finished off a 2-on-1 feed from Kessel at 18:37 of the third. "A few weeks ago, it felt like the sky was falling in Toronto," said Kadri of the four-game losing streak. "We understood that it was nothing to panic about, we just rallied around each other. " Added Franson: "Were moving in the right direction and I dont know if you can call it a swagger, but our play is getting better and at the end of the day thats all youre looking to do is progressively progress." Toronto concludes its three-game home stand Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Notes: Leafs coach Randy Carlyle expects David Clarkson (elbow) to return during the teams two-game road trip in Florida. a Toronto forward David Bolland (ankle) is 50-50 to return to the lineup prior to the Olympic break according to Carlyle. a Florida forward Shawn Matthias (illness) returned to the lineup Thursday. Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Discount NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '