Jet's 3 beats Kings 101-99

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – There was nothing exhibition about the Mavericks and Sacramento hooking up Tuesday night on the campus of New Mexico State.

Mavs forward Josh Howard was ejected in the second quarter of Dallas’ 101-99 victory, while Dirk Nowitzki picked up a flagrant foul in the fourth. There was a definite regular-season feel in intensity as the game built to Jason Terry’s game-winning crescendo.

“This was pretty hectic for a preseason game,” Nowitzki said. “We played all the way to the end and it came down to the last possession. That was actually the hardest preseason game I’ve ever played.”

With the lead seesawing down the stretch, the court was covered with NBA regulars. Among the Mavs on the court during crunch time were Nowitzki, Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris. The Kings had Mike Bibby, Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Kevin Martin out there.

Nowitzki made several key plays on both ends in the final minutes, including blocking a reverse slam try by Artest. Two free throws from Nowitzki put the Mavs (2-2) up 98-97 with less than 30 seconds left.

Kings swingman John Salmons answered with a pair from the line with 11.1 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Terry knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing with four seconds left. Out of timeouts, the Kings never got the ball past midcourt.

Terry’s final dagger is also a snapshot of Harris’ continual growth at point guard. The play was drawn up for Harris to attack the basket, but he was doubled. So he swung the ball to Trenton Hassell who moved it to a wide-open Terry.

“He made a great find in getting that ball across the court and Trenton got the ball to the scorer,” Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. “With Jet, we’ve seen that before. Jet’s a big-time shooter.”

Terry added: “I still got it.”

Terry finished with 15 points off the bench. Nowitzki led with a line – 23 points and 13 rebounds in 37 ½ minutes – straight out of the regular season. Stackhouse had 17 points in his strongest preseason showing and Harris finished with 11.

“It felt like a tough regular-season showdown,” Terry said. “We fought through some adversity with some foul trouble, losing Josh, but we weathered the storm and executed the way we had to down the stretch.”