SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Doug Christie simply would not let the Sacramento Kings be eliminated in Arco Arena – even with Nick Van Exel almost singlehandedly trying to put Dallas into the conference finals.
Christie had 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to lead the Kings to a 115-109 victory over the Mavericks on Thursday night, evening their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series at 3-3.
Kings coach Rick Adelman threw his arm up in the air in excitement during the final seconds.
The Mavs remain one win away from their first trip to the NBA finals, while the Kings’ quest for the franchise’s first title in 52 years is still alive.
Van Exel scored 35 points on 15-for-23 shooting in 37 minutes, and the Kings had no one who could guard him. He leapt high for a rebound and scored on a putback with 8:16 left for a 95-94 lead, but the Mavs then went cold and didn’t get another basket for 5:05.
Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas, while Michael Finley had 21 points, seven boards and four assists.
Peja Stojakovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who played their fourth game in the series without injured star Chris Webber. Sacramento overcame a sluggish first quarter and converted 31 of 32 free throws, including 31 straight. Reserves Bobby Jackson and Jim Jackson had 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Dallas, eliminated in five games by Sacramento last season, did not want to go the distance in this series after being pushed to the limit by Portland in the first round.
Webber limped helplessly around the sidelines in his designer duds and watched nervously from the edge of his seat, popping his bubble gum anxiously.
His supporting cast came through just fine, with Christie again setting the tone early – hustling for loose balls, going hard to the glass and making big baskets. At one point in the third period, Christie gathered his crew together for a pep talk, then scored six straight points and six of his team’s eight during a 10-3 run spanning two minutes in which Dallas was limited to three free throws.
The deafening crowd of 17,317 became more raucous in the second half as the Kings sold out for the 178th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the league.
Walt Williams missed a go-ahead 3 with 12 seconds left and Bobby Jackson made two free throws on the other end to ice the victory.
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