KMAX: Sports

After Keon Clark leaped high and slammed in the rebound of a missed 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds left, sending Sacramento to a 110-109 victory Tuesday night, the Mavericks trotted out the same reminder they used after a 29-point loss to the Kings three weeks ago.

``We beat them three out of four last year in the regular season, but they beat us in the playoffs,'' point guard Steve Nash said. ``So we're not going to roll over and say it's over because they've beaten us twice in the regular season.''

In the first matchup of the Western Conference division leaders, Chris Webber had a triple-double and Sacramento led the entire game. This time, with Webber out with a sprained ankle and Sacramento having lost two straight and four of five, the Kings still found a way to win.

Mike Bibby had 27 points and Peja Stojakovic had 24 points and tied his season best with 14 rebounds. He also defended Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki in the closing seconds, when Nowitzki missed a jumper in the lane that would've won it.

Nowitzki had 28 points, 16 rebounds and five assists and Michael Finley also scored 28 for Dallas, which had won four straight and seven of eight.

``It's just a huge win for us,'' said Kings coach Rick Adelman, who punched the air in celebration when the buzzer sounded. ``They kept coming back at us and it seemed like they were making every shot. We stayed with it and got the ball to bounce the right way at the end.''

The Mavericks' last two games were decided in the final minutes against solid teams in Minnesota and Utah. Sacramento, though, is an elite team. Dallas fell to 0-3 against the Kings and San Antonio Spurs.

``We needed this win to convince everybody we can beat them and we didn't do that,'' said Mavericks starter Raja Bell. ``The consolation is that we still have the best record.''

At 38-10, Dallas has four fewer losses than any other team.

The Mavericks felt this game wasn't lost at the end, but at the start when the Kings made 13 of their first 17 shots and went on to lead by 16 in the third quarter.

Sacramento cooled off and Dallas tied it at 64 early in the third quarter. Neither team led by more than six the rest of the way.

Five straight points by Finley put the Mavericks ahead 107-106 with 57 seconds left. Then Bibby and Nowitzki traded tough jumpers, leaving Dallas still up by one.

Sacramento's Hedo Turkoglu missed a long 3-pointer and the rebound went straight up. The long, lanky Clark who earlier had an amazing one-handed, reverse alley-oop dunk caught the ball and slammed it through in one motion.

On Dallas' final possession, Stojakovic had Nowitzki covered well before the 7-footer slipped free into the lane.

``I just wanted to make it hard on him,'' Stojakovic said. ``He's made a lot of those shots, but he didn't tonight. We were lucky because I bounced off of him.''< ^Notes:@ Nowitzki missed his first eight shots. His first basket gave Dallas 43 points. ... The Kings got their 16th road win, tying the Mavs for most in the NBA. ... Sacramento is five games behind Dallas for the best record in the West and 1{ games ahead of Portland in the Pacific Division. ... From long range: Stojakovic hit 4-of-5 on 3-pointers and the Kings were 6-of-9 from behind the arc; Dallas was 13-of-29, with Nick Van Exel going 3-of-8. He had made 11 of his last 15 3-pointers.