SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- 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. Scarpe Air Max 720 Outlet . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Scarpe Air Max 720 Scontate . Canada was placed in one of the easiest groups during Saturdays live televised draw in Montreal. http://www.airmax720scontate.it/ . Johan Franzen had two goals and two assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three assists and David Legwand a goal and two assists in the Red Wings 7-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. Air Max 720 Offerta .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. Air Max 720 Outlet Italia . LA (SportsNetwork.INDIANAPOLIS -- Adreian Payne scored 18 points and Gary Harris and Branden Dawson added 15 each to lead No. 22 Michigan State to its second Big Ten tournament title in three years with a 69-55 upset of No. 8 Michigan on Sunday. The third-seeded Spartans (26-8) are getting healthy and will have some momentum entering the NCAA tournament with four wins in five games. Top-seeded Michigan (25-8) was led by Big Ten player of the year Nik Stauskas with 17 points and Derrick Walton Jr. had 11, but the Big Ten regular season champs had their seven-game winning streak come to an end. It was never really close. Michigan State took control with an early 12-0 run, led 38-29 at halftime and opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt to make it 46-29. Michigan never got closer than 10 points again. The Spartans had lost their previous two meetings with Michigan this season but werent about to lose again Sunday. For the first time all season, Michigan State started the same five players for a fifth straight game. Harris, who hurt his left shoulder early in the second half, returned later. Harris, an Indiana native who never got to play for a state basketball title at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, took advantage of this opportunity. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half. Dawson, another Indiana native who was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player, scored 10 of his 15 points in the seccond half.dddddddddddd Michigan State has four tournament titles since the Big Ten started the event in 1998. Michigan, meanwhile, will be waiting to see if this ugly loss could cost it a No. 1 seed in next weeks NCAA tournament. The Wolverines, who narrowly escaped with wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, were not their usually strong shooting selves as they played for the third time in three days. They avoided matching their season-low point total when Zak Irvin hit a 3 with 15.9 seconds to go and their shooting percentage (31.5) nearly matched a season low, too. Michigan shot 31.1 per cent from the field in a 63-61 loss to Charlotte on Nov. 24. And they were outrebounded 38-28. Michigans problems started early. The Spartans went on a 12-0 run to take a 16-9 lead -- and never gave it up. They led by as much as 25-14 in the first half, getting Michigans top two big men -- Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford -- into early foul trouble. Coach John Beilein even was called for a technical foul midway through a dreadful half. Harris finished it off emphatically by taking a pass at midcourt and driving right through Michigans defence for a one-handed dunk to make it 38-29. Things didnt get any better for Michigan in the second half. Michigan State scored the first eight points to make it 46-29, then closed it out with a late 10-4 run that extended the lead to 69-52. ' ' '