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. Air Jordan 12 Wholesale NZ . Jacobs scored two in the first end, but Jahr briefly took charge with two in the second end and two more in the third. Jacobs, from Sault. Marie, Ont., gave Canada some breathing room, following his big fourth end by adding two more points in the fifth to go up 7-4. Air Jordan Retro 12 Wholesale . Edmonton opened the season with 14 straight victories before falling Friday night 10-8 to the host Colorado Mammoth in National Lacrosse League action. http://www.cheapairjordan12nz.com/ . In the Brewers six games this season, no starter has allowed more than three runs. "We see the guy in front of us do a great job and we want to do even better," Gallardo said after the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0 on Sunday, his second straight scoreless start. Jordan 12 For Sale NZ . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. Air Jordan 12 Retro NZ . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions.The Toronto Maple Leafs look for their second straight win on Tuesday when they host the New York Islanders at Air Canada Centre. Listen to the game on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto at 7pm et. The club dropped three in a row before ending the slump with Saturdays 4-2 win over visiting Buffalo. James van Riemsdyk scored twice to lift the Maple Leafs to a win Saturday in the back end of a home-and-home series with the Sabres. Mason Raymond posted a goal and an assist while Nikolai Kulemin also scored for Toronto. James Reimer posted 33 saves in the victory. Reimer is 4-2-1 with a 3.43 goals against average in his career against the Islanders. Fellow Toronto goaltender Jonathan Bernier has never faced the Isles. Torontos Phil Kessel will be in the lineup for tonights contest after the star winger sat out practice on Monday with a bout of the flu. Kessel is leading Toronto this season in both goals (10) and points (19). Meanwhile, Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak returned to practice Monday for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury on Oct. 25. Bozak is eligible to come off the injured reserve on Thursday, but its unclear if he will be able to play in Torontos game that night against Nashville. The Islanders try to win consecutive games for only the second time this season. The Islanders last won back-to-back outings on Nov. 1 and 2 against Ottawa and Boston, respectively. New York is coming off Saturdays home shootout victory over Detroit, although that win did come at a cost as goaltender Evgeni Nabokov suffered a groin injury early in the affair. Nabokov had sat out the previous three games before returning to action on Saturday against the Red Wings. His return didnt last long, however, as the 38-year-old veteran left 4:12 into the game after facing only one shot.dddddddddddd. Nabokov was placed on injured reserve on Monday and could miss a month of action or more. Kevin Poulin, who is 2-1-0 in his last three decisions, stopped 19-of-22 shots through overtime in his relief effort on Saturday. He also turned aside Detroits Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Todd Bertuzzi in the shootout phase to seal the 5-4 triumph for the Isles. "He battles hard, he competes really hard," Islanders captain John Tavares said about Poulin. "Hes a confident guy and did a great job obviously in the shootout." With Nabokov on the shelf, Poulin will assume the starters role. The Islanders also recalled netminder Anders Nilsson from their American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport to serve in a backup role. Frans Nielsen scored the lone shootout goal on Saturday, while Tavares registered a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who once again played without winger Thomas Vanek. The Austrian forward has missed the past four games after playing in just six games with New York following a trade with Buffalo last month. Vanek, who has five goals and seven assists in 19 total games this season, will not play tonight. Saturdays win allowed New York to complete a three-game homestand with a 2-1-0 record. The club will play its next three on the road and is just 3-6-0 as the guest this season. The Isles have won three straight and four of their last six games in Toronto. New York has claimed three of four overall in this series. The Maple Leafs, however, are boasting a strong 7-2-0 mark on home ice this season and are beginning a four-game stay at the ACC tonight. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '