Mavs-Kings preview

Sacramento Kings (0-2) at Dallas Mavericks (1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 3 • American Airlines Center • 7:30 pm (CT)
TXA-21 • ESPN 103.3 FM • KFLC 1270 AM (Spanish)

PROBABLE STARTERS
DALLAS
F Dirk Nowitzki (7-0, 245)
F Josh Howard (6-7, 210)
C Gana Diop (7-0, 280)
G Eddie Jones (6-6, 200)
G Devin Harris (6-3, 185)

SACRAMENTO
F Kenny Thomas (6-7, 245)
C Brad Miller (7-0, 261)
G Kevin Martin (6-7, 185)
G Orien Greene (6-4, 208)
G John Salmons (6-6, 207)

INJURY REPORT
Dallas: Erick Dampier (right shoulder surgery) and Devean George (left foot stress reaction) are out. Harris (left thigh contusion) is day-to-day.
Sacramento: Mike Bibby (thumb), Ron Artest (suspension) and Spencer Hawes (knee) are out. Beno Udrih (hand) is day-to-day.

Last game: 101-94 loss at Atlanta
Next game: Houston, Monday, AAC, 7:30 pm (NBATV)
All-time series: Mavs lead 65-58

Connections: Bibby and Jason Terry were teammates at the University of Arizona where they won the 1997 National Championship… Kings center Mikki Moore has been teammates with both Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit, 1998-2002) and Terry (Atlanta, 2002-03) … Miller has played with two Mavericks – Jones (Charlotte, 1999-2000) and Trenton Hassell (Chicago, 2001-02)… Terry and Kings veteran forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim were teammates in Atlanta from 2001-04… Terry and Hawes both hail from Seattle.

Scouting the Kings: Haven’t been competitive without Bibby and Artest, dropped their first two games by 14 and 16 points … Martin is doing his best to pick up the slack, averaging 24 ppg … Miller is averaging 12.5 ppg, but only 4.5 rpg … Have dropped 13 of the last 16 in the series, including seven straight in Dallas.

Observations: Terry wasn’t just speaking the company line when he said he was fine with coming off the bench. His campaign for Sixth Man of the Year is off to a flying start, averaging a team-high 22 ppg and 5 apg … Nowitzki is staying steady to start the season with 21.5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists … Diop is averaging 8 rebounds, 6 points and 5 blocks … JJ Barea was forced into action when Dallas lost Harris in the first half at Atlanta. He responded with 14 points (5-6 FGs, 4-4 FTs) in just 9 minutes of action.