Mavericks smother Kings in rout

(Reuters) – The Dallas Mavericks had little difficulty extending their win streak to five games as they crushed the Sacramento Kings 99-60 at the American Airlines Center on Saturday.

Sacramento endured a horrendous first half, scoring just 23 points on 17 percent shooting from the floor that included missing all nine three-point attempts.

The franchise’s previous low for points in the first half was 25 set on February 26 1957 against the Boston Celtics when the team was called the Rochester Royals.

“They (Sacramento) had some struggles and their shot-making wasn’t great, but I thought we had something to do with that,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters.

“We’re placing our major emphasis on energy, defense and rebounding. The guys are responding.”
Dallas seized control of the game with a 17-3 run over the final seven minutes of the first quarter to build a 27-11 lead and continued their domination through the second, building a 52-23 lead at halftime.