Kings, Mavericks battle for ground in tight West terrain

Two teams dealing with injured big men and looking to move out of the play-in portion of the Western Conference standings go head-to-head Monday night when the Sacramento Kings visit the Dallas Mavericks.

Three consecutive wins by the Kings and three losses in four games by the Mavericks have left the teams in a virtual tie outside the top six in the West that will be guaranteed postseason slots.

Sacramento's winning streak has included a 2-0 start to a four-game trip that ends Wednesday in Denver. The Kings prevailed 129-128 in an overtime thriller in a previous trip to Dallas last month.

Thanks to Domantas Sabonis' 16.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per game in the first two meetings, and DeMar DeRozan's season-best 42 points in the February visit to Dallas, the Kings have assured themselves of a win in the three-game season series, which could turn into a key tiebreaker when jockeying for playoff position.

The Kings will have to seek a season sweep without Sabonis, who injured his left hamstring in the second minute of Saturday's 113-103 win at Houston and has been ruled out of Monday's game.

Fortunately for Sacramento, trade-deadline acquisition Jonas Valanciunas was able to come off the bench against Houston and put up a Sabonis-like 15 points and 14 rebounds in 30 minutes.

The veteran has served as a backup in each of his nine games with the Kings. He had 12 starts for the Washington Wizards earlier this season.

Kings coach Doug Christie credited a team effort that included a combined 10 points and nine rebounds from Trey Lyles and Jake LaRavia off the bench as a key to overcoming the early loss of Sabonis.

He hopes for more of the same moving forward if his double-double machine has to miss significant time.

"We're talking about Domantas Sabonis, who covers the stat sheet in a way that is difficult to do," Christie observed. "A lot of guys stepped in (against Houston) and were just trying to do what they do, and that adds up to everyone pulling the rope in the same direction."

The Mavericks know all about big-man injuries. They played their eighth straight game without Anthony Davis (strained left adductor), 21st straight without Dereck Lively II (stress fracture in right ankle) and seventh straight without Daniel Gafford (sprained right MCL) when beaten 132-117 at home by the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

They were missing Davis and Lively when the Kings won at Dallas on Feb. 10. Sacramento dominated 50-33 on the boards that night.

In the meantime, the Mavericks lost another key frontcourt player when P.J. Washington sprained his right ankle in the first half against the Bucks. Washington has been ruled of Monday's game.

The loss has forced Dallas coach Jason Kidd to change directions on the fly, as he had hoped to give some time off to key two-way player Kessler Edwards, who only has 10 games remaining on his NBA contract.

"We'll see how our health goes the next couple weeks. If we can get healthy, then we'll find a way to sit him. If not, he's going to play," Kidd said of Edwards. "If P.J.'s out, most likely Kessler will be in."

Edwards started and played 26 minutes in last month's home loss to Sacramento. He had six points, two steals and two blocks.

--Field Level Media