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SACRAMENTO, Calif. Brad Lidge Jersey . -- With go-to scorer Dirk Nowitzki having an off night, the Dallas Mavericks relied on other offensive options to hold off the Sacramento Kings. Monta Ellis scored eight of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and the Mavericks kept their playoff position with their third straight win, a 93-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. The Mavericks won for the fourth time in five games to maintain seventh place in the Western Conference. It was the fifth straight road win for Dallas, which concludes its four-game road trip Tuesday in Utah. "Every game is a playoff game right now," Dallas reserve centre DeJuan Blair said. The Kings defeated Dallas at home earlier this season and their three straight losses have been by a combined nine points. So with Nowitzki getting 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting, the Mavericks had to look elsewhere for a reliable scorer. It was Ellis who stepped up in a tight fourth quarter. He made a crucial 3-pointer and converted all three free throws when Dallas was clinging to its slim lead down the stretch. Ellis made a 3 at the 3:04 mark of the fourth quarter and converted a three-point play to give the Mavericks a 90-84 lead with 1:51 left. "Monta saved the day in the fourth quarter," Nowitzki said. "He made that huge 3 and then he had the and-one (three-point play) on a pick and roll. He was phenomenal in the fourth quarter." Rudy Gay had 32 points and tied a career high with eight assists for the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins added 28 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie point guard Ray McCallum had eight points and nine rebounds. The Kings played their sixth straight game without starting point guard Isaiah Thomas (right quadriceps contusion), who is averaging 20.7 points and 6.4 assists per game. "The Kings match up tough against us," said Blair, who had six points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes. "They have played us three tough games." Vince Carter scored 17 points and Jose Calderon hit four 3-pointers and added 14 points for the Mavericks, who made 13 threes. Nowitzki, who shot 64 per cent and averaged 28.7 points in his previous three games, missed eight of his first 10 shots. Following a timeout early in the third quarter, Nowitzki hit a 19-footer and soon after made a 3-pointer. "Obviously, their backs are up against the wall right now. They know they need every game they can get to get into the post-season," Gay said. "We went into this game knowing that we didnt have anything to lose. They are going to play a lot of teams that dont have anything to lose. For them to stay competitive, its going to be tough for them." The Kings fouled Ellis intentionally and he made two free throws to put Dallas in front 92-87 with 24 seconds left. McCallums layup and two free throws by Gay pulled the Kings to within one point. But Nowitzki hit one of two foul shots and Cousins was short on a baseline jumper in the closing seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. "I still think we had an opportunity to make something happen," Cousins said. "But I am kind of disappointed in myself for settling for a shot like that. I could have gotten a lot better shot than that." The teams swapped misses before Gays three-point play pulled the Kings within three points with 26 seconds left. Cousins made a driving shot in traffic to put Sacramento ahead 77-75 with 6:51 to go in the fourth. Consecutive 3s by Carter and another by Shawn Marion put Dallas ahead 84-79 with 4:20. Trailing for much of the third quarter, Ellis had three transition baskets and Calderon made a 3 to help Dallas outscore the Kings 11-4 in the final 3:15 to take a 68-65 lead into the fourth. "We knew it was going to be a dog fight, but the good thing is we stayed together," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The Kings are pretty tough, but we came through. Every game has such a high level of importance. We need to play much better than tonight." NOTES: Cousins had 14 of his 16 first-half points in the first quarter. The Kings led 48-45 at the half. ... Dallas shot 29 per cent in the second quarter and was outscored 24-16. ... Ex-King Peja Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star in Sacramento, sat courtside next to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. ... Derrick Williams scored 31 points in an earlier home wins against the Mavericks, but had only five in the rematch. Chris Devenski Jersey . To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Jake Marisnick Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct.Green Bay, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Aaron Rodgers began to wince on a scramble and went down in pain following a touchdown pass, but everything was ok when his quarterback sneak put the Green Bay Packers comfortably in front. Rodgers tossed both of his touchdown passes to Randall Cobb and the Packers won the NFC North for a fourth straight year following a 30-20 triumph over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Green Bay (12-4) earned a first-round bye with the win and will be the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Rodgers re-aggravated his left calf injury suffered last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers late in the first half and missed two Green Bay possessions. Matt Flynn, who started five games filling in for Rodgers last season due to his broken collarbone, came on to replace him for those two series. Rodgers began to show effects of the injury during the latter stages of the second. He cringed while tip-toeing on a scramble to move the chains on a 3rd- and-8 and fell down holding his left calf after flipping a 4-yard TD pass to Cobb. The Lambeau Field faithful cheered when he walked out of the tunnel following Green Bays initial touch of the third quarter. The Packers ripped off 16 straight points when Rodgers returned midway through the frame. The 2011 MVP was a limited participant in practice all week and was listed as questionable on Fridays injury report. Rodgers finished 17-of-22, while Flynn fired a 6-yard completion on his only pass attempt in the victory. Eddie Lacy carried the ball 26 times for 100 yards, Cobb caught four passes for 80 yards and Jordy Nelson hauled in six receptions for 86 yards for Green Bay, which went a perfect 8-0 at home. Its definitely tough when you see your quarterback and leader go down, Cobb said. We just wanted to rally around him and find a way to come out with a win. The Packers ran for 152 yards against the top-ranked run defense in the league. Detroit came in allowing just 63.8 yards per game on the ground. Matthew Stafford was 20-of-41 for 217 yards and three touchdowns and Calvin Johnson had four receptions for 39 yards and two scores for the Lions (11-5), who are the sixth seed in the NFC and will face the Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round. I think our guys played hard, played tough, said Lions coach Jim Caldwell. Rodgers re-entered the game after Stafford hit JJohnson for a 4-yard TD pass at the 7:34 mark of the third, which tied the game at 14-14. Gerrit Cole Jersey. Rodgers fired a 29-yard dart over the middle to Cobb on his first pass attempt following his return and later hit him for a 13-yard score on a 3rd-and-4 to give the Packers a 21-14 advantage. I was kind of battling to get back out there, Rodgers said. I felt pretty good on the sidelines ... just felt like if I could get back out there, I could give us a little jolt. Green Bays defense forced a three-and-out on Detroits ensuing sequence. Rodgers tossed a 12-yard completion to Nelson on a 3rd-and-18 to set the Packers up in fringe field-goal territory. Mason Crosbys 52-yard kick, however, was blocked. The Lions failed to capitalize after Joique Bell fumbled the ball on the very next snap. Morgan Burnett made the recovery. Rodgers flipped a 15-yard completion to Nelson to move the ball to the Detroit 10. Rodgers sneak with 8:45 to go made it 28-14. Green Bay added a safety with 2:32 remaining when Stafford was flagged for an intentional grounding in the end zone. Cobb muffed the ensuing free kick and Cassius Vaughn made the recovery for Detroit. Theo Riddick caught a 6-yard TD pass with 1:45 to play to cap the scoring. The two-point try was unsuccessful. Earlier, Green Bay was unable to punch the ball across the goal line on its opening touch despite having seven goal-to-go snaps. Lacy was stuffed on a 4th-and-goal from the 1 by a host of Lions. The Packers, though, found the end zone when Micah Hyde returned a punt 55 yards up the middle and down the left sideline to open the scoring at the 4:49 mark of the first. Cobbs 4-yard TD catch late in the second upped the advantage to 14-0. The Lions answered on their next trek when Stafford fired a 20-yard TD pass to Johnson right before the half, trimming the gap to 14-7. Game Notes Cobb and Nelson are the third pair of receivers to have at least 1,200 yards receiving and 10-plus touchdowns, joining Randy Moss and Cris Carter from the 1999 Minnesota Vikings and Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker from the 2013 Denver Broncos ... The Lions were seeking their first divisional title since 1993 ... Stafford fell to 0-16 in his career on the road against teams with a winning record ... Green Bay outgained Detroit 377-313. ' ' '