Vince Carter scored 17 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 15 for the seventh-place Mavericks, who moved a game ahead of Phoenix and 1 1/2 games ahead of Memphis in the three-team race for the final two Western Conference playoff berths. Jose Calderon chipped in 14 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds as Dallas won its fifth straight road game for the first time since its NBA-title season in 2010-11.

Rudy Gay poured in 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and matched a career high with eight assists to lead the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins racked up 28 points and 10 rebounds but missed a potential tying jumper at the buzzer after the Mavericks missed three of four free throws down the stretch.

Sacramento was up 65-63 with just over a minute left in the third quarter when Calderon drained a 3-pointer and Ellis added steal an layup a few seconds later to send Dallas into the fourth with a 68-65 advantage. There were three ties and four lead changes early in the fourth quarter, but Carter and Marion hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Mavericks ahead for good with less than five minutes to play.

The Kings shot 51.4 percent in the first half and got 16 points apiece from Gay and Cousins to take a 48-45 lead into the break. Sacramento scored the first six points of the third quarter to extend the margin to nine before Dallas rattled off a 12-2 run and regained the lead on a Calderon 3-pointer with 5:45 left in the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Three of the four games in the season series were decided by five points or fewer. … Nowitzki (26,693) needs 17 points to tie Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. … Cousins has recorded double-doubles in four straight games and 12 of the last 14.