http://www.nba.com/games/20040125/SACDAL/recap.html

  Dallas 109, Sacramento 99
   Mavs Clip Kings, Run Streak to Eight 

  DALLAS, Jan. 25 (Ticker) -- Michael Finley had the best aim in a Texas-
  style shootout.

  Finley scored 23 points,  including a key jumper with 1:58 left,  as the
  Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to eight games with a 108
  -99 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

  The rivalry  between  the Western  Conference  rivals  featured  13 lead
  changes. But the Mavericks ultimately wore down a team playing the third
  game of a six-game road trip.

  "Down the stretch we got some nice stops  and made some big stops and big
  plays. It's been fun to watch," said Dallas center Dirk Nowitzki, who had
  20 points and 12 rebounds.  "I think we are coming together a little bit.
  Against Sacramento,  we match up  against them very well  and it's always
  fun games."

  Dallas took the lead for good, 99-97, on a jumper by Finley, beginning
  an 11-2 spurt to close the game.

  Steve Nash added 21 points and 13 assists, including a feed down low to
  Nowitzki that ended in a three-point play for a 101-97 lead.

  "Anytime you play the good teams, it feels good to win," Nash said. "It
  feels good to play at their level or better."

  Peja Stojakovic had 24 points  and 10 rebounds  and Mike Bibby scored 23
  points for  the Kings,  who have  lost three of  their last  four games.
  Sacramento has lost back-to-back games for the first time since December
  25-26.

  Brad Miller added 11 points  and 17 rebounds for the Kings,  who fought
  back from a 10-point  deficit to tie it at 97-97  on Bibby's 3-pointer.
  But Finley soon followed with a jumper and Mavericks were on their way.

  "Although they made their run, we kept our heads up and found a way to
  stop them," Finley said.

  Antoine Walker scored 17 points for the Mavericks, including seven
  straight in the fourth quarter. His dunk with 7:39 left pushed the
  advantage to 87-77.

  The Kings  have lost  both meetings  between the teams  this season,
  including a 111-103 home setback on Christmas in which it squandered
  a 16-point halftime lead.

  "For the first three quarters we were just too casual with the ball,"
  Kings coach  Rick Adelman said.  "We played hard,  but you can't make
  mistakes like we made with the ball on the road."

  It was a game of strong finishes for the Mavericks, who ended each
  quarter impressively.

  Dallas had a 9-3 run to end the third quarter, highlighted by a
  3-pointer from Finley.

  The Kings led by as many as seven points in the first quarter before
  the Mavericks closed the period with a 14-3 run to take a 25-21 lead.
  Dallas also scored the final six points of the second quarter.

  "We just didn't finish throughout the game," Miller said.