Although still not in total sync as new teammates, Rajon Rondo and Monta Ellis are making a difference as a backcourt for the Dallas Mavericks.
Ellis scored six of his 28 points in overtime and added 10 assists, Rondo scored 21 points and hit a huge three-pointer in OT, and the Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 108-104 in the NBA on Tuesday night.
Rondo, who came to Dallas in a mid-December trade with Boston, erased a one-point deficit with a three-pointer, giving Dallas the lead for good at 104-102 with 1:19 remaining. Ellis made four free throws from there to close it out.
“Rondo’s three was obviously a big one, but I thought he made some big passes, too,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He was real aggressive and played good defence on the ball.”
The Mavericks rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to avoid a third straight loss. Dallas were coming off two humbling losses to Detroit (118-105) and the Clippers (120-100).
“When you’re down 10 points with 4:11 to play, you virtually have to pitch a shutout to win the game or even get it to OT,” Carlisle said. “Our guys did that. It’s an important game, you don’t want to lose two in a row in the Western Conference. We didn’t want a third one to happen.”
DeMarcus Cousins, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, had 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, but also committed nine turnovers for the Kings. Darren Collison had 18 points and seven rebounds.
Sacramento lost Rudy Gay, their second-leading scorer, late in the first quarter with a left knee strain. Gay, who is averaging nearly 21 points a game, had four points in 10 minutes.
Minus Cousins and Gay, the Kings were limited offensively in overtime when they missed all seven shots and were outscored 9-5.
“With (Cousins) out in overtime, we were able to set up our defence,” Mavs centre Tyson Chandler said. “He’s a load, one of the premier players in the league.”
Chandler had 16 points and 17 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points and Chandler Parsons finished with 13 for Dallas, who rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the Kings on November 11.
“There were some unfortunate things that happened toward the end of the game in regulation,” Collison said. “But they hit some tough shots down the stretch, Dirk with a three, Rondo with a three, and it put us back a step. We got a little bit stagnant.”
With the game tied at 92, Cousins committed an offensive foul, his sixth, and slowly walked to the Kings bench with 21 seconds left as the Mavericks called timeout. Ellis missed a long jumper with a second left to send the game into overtime.
Dallas haven’t dropped three consecutive games since last March.
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
