DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki is an All-Star again, and the big German is playing like he did when he went to 11 straight midseason showcases. Alex Avila Jersey . Nowitzki scored 34 points and the Dallas Mavericks held off Sacramento 107-103 Friday night, handing the Kings their sixth straight loss in another game without leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins. The 35-year-old had his second straight 30-point game for the first time in nearly two years and helped the Mavericks rally in the fourth quarter after they squandered a double-digit lead in the first half and fell behind by 14 in the third. "Ive been in a good groove," said Nowitzki, who was named an All-Star reserve Thursday after his long streak of appearances ended last season when he missed the first 27 games after knee surgery. "Before the last three, I didnt really have a good groove." Rudy Gay scored 35 to lead the Kings, who have the worst record in the Western Conference at 15-31 and were without Cousins for the fifth straight game because of a sprained left ankle. He is likely to miss his sixth straight in San Antonio on Saturday night. "We have to learn how to be a winning team," said Gay, who had 18 at halftime by making all six shots from the field and 6 of 7 free throws. "We just have to play a whole solid game. Thats what we need to do for us to get off that slide were on right now." Nowitzki backed up his 12th All-Star nod while Cousins had to sit out a chance to show he belonged in the Feb. 16 game. The fourth-year centre is in the top 10 in the league in scoring and rebounding. "Theres always guys that deserve it," said Nowitzki, whos in his 16th season. "Maybe this is my last hurrah." Brandan Wright had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, including a floater in the lane that put the Mavericks ahead for good at 96-94. Dallas was up 102-100 after a bucket by Gay with 24 seconds left. But the Kings didnt foul right away, and Vince Carter found Monta Ellis underneath for a three-point play. Sacramento was still within two after a 3-pointer by Marcus Thornton, but Ellis made a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game with 4.6 seconds left. Ellis was in his worst three-game scoring slump of the season and didnt have a point most of the first half before getting 11 in the fourth quarter and finishing with 20. "It was one of those nights where he could have easily gotten frustrated, but he didnt," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "He just kept playing the whole game and it came around." The Mavericks, who couldnt hold a double-digit lead in the first half, went back in front with a 9-0 run capped by a pair of free throws from Nowitzki for an 89-87 lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Kings matched their longest skid of the season despite starting the second half with a 17-3 run that included consecutive 3-pointers from Isaiah Thomas, who scored 13 in the third quarter but was held to two points on 1-of-7 shooting in the fourth. Thomas finished with 19, but he and Gay were the only double-figure scorers for the Kings. "Im frustrated with myself because my shots not falling," Thomas said. "DeMarcus makes things a lot easier for me. Hopefully he gets back soon." Sacramentos lead grew to 14 on a layup by Aaron Gray before the Mavericks finished the third on an 11-3 run highlighted by Ellis steal and breakaway dunk that got the deficit back under 10 at 78-70. The Mavericks played without Shawn Marion, who has lingering soreness from shoulder and ribs injuries sustained in early January. He missed the first four games after getting injured. NOTES: Dallas Jose Calderon and Thomas were called for a double technical when Calderon went to the floor away from the ball after making contact with Thomas. Calderon got up yelling at Thomas and kept going after a whistle stopped play, leading to the technical. The pair had a friendly halftime chat mediated by referee Tony Brothers. ... Nowitzki had his third career game of at least 38 points and 17 rebounds in Wednesdays loss to Houston. The Mavericks won the other two. ... The Mavericks recalled G Ricky Ledo from the NBA Development League before the game and sent him back down afterward. Adam Jones Diamondbacks Jersey . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Robbie Ray Diamondbacks Jersey . "We cannot stay the same way the whole season long," said Reyes. "This is not acceptable. Something needs to change because were a better team than what were showing right now. Its a long season and we just need to continue to push." Its been a frustrating week for the ballclub. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondbacks-caleb-joseph-jersey/ . That still leaves a big hole.You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time.NEW YORK -- If Commissioner Roger Goodell gets his way, change could be coming to the NFL. Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. Short on details or precise timetables, and acknowledging hell need approval from team owners for action, Goodell painted the picture of an ever-evolving league during his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference, held Friday in a theatre in midtown Manhattan. Goodell said "theres a lot of benefits" to increasing the post-season field from 12 to 14 clubs. "We think we can make the league more competitive. We think we can make the matchups more competitive toward the end of the season. There will be more excitement, more memorable moments for our fans. And thats something that attracts us," Goodell said. "We think we can do it properly from a competitive standpoint. So this will continue to get very serious consideration by the competition committee." That sort of proposal would require "Yes" votes from 24 of the 32 owners. At least one who attended Goodells speech, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, sounded in favour of the idea, with a couple of caveats: He wouldnt want to let too many teams into the post-season, and hed like to hear more about scheduling. "We dont want to become like some other sports, where its too easy to make the playoffs," Lurie said. "Adding one team would not put us in a counterproductive situation. But when you would play the games, I think, is very important, so that the following games, you have virtually an equal time to prepare." Making a not-so-subtle reference to mistakes by game officials this season, Goodell said that committee also will make recommendations to the 32 owners about having replays from all games overseen by the league office. Major League Baseball recently joined the NHL as sports that have centralized replay systems. "We think theres plenty of room for us to improve the game of football, and officiating in particular. What we all want is consistency and fairness in our officiating," Goodell said. "I do believe there is a possibility that some version of that will occur -- where our office can at least be involved with the decision. It may not make the decision," he added, "but at least can provide some input that would be helpful to the officials on the field to make sure theyre seeing every angle." Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said he needs more information before deciding whether hed be in favour. "Our situation is different than hockey. But I think we should look at everything," Rooney said. "Maybe we want to expand the numbeer of incidents that you look at. Caleb Joseph Diamondbacks Jersey. . A lot of times theyll say, Thats not reviewable. Look into that, for example." New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft likes the suggestion. "Games should be standardized and have the same people making the calls," Kraft said. "I dont want to ever lose a game based on poor interpretation of rules by (different) officials." Another focal point, according to Goodell, will be preventing the kind of alleged bullying that rocked the Miami Dolphins this season. "Ive already begun discussions with outside parties. Ive discussed it with the union, Ive also met with several groups of players, individually and collectively, to talk about the circumstances. What needs to be done?" Goodell said. "Some of it will be education. Some of it possibly could be policy change." Speaking two days before the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks play in East Rutherford, N.J., Goodell did not respond directly to questions whether other cold-weather cities with outdoor stadiums could host NFL championship games. During his opening remarks, Goodell said: "One unique aspect about the focus for this years Super Bowl has been on the weather. Of course, we cannot control the weather. I told you we were going to embrace the weather. Here we go." And with that, flakes of fake snow fell from the ceiling above the stage, drawing laughter. Among other topics addressed by Goodell: --The NFL is working to convince a federal judge in Philadelphia that the tentative $765 million settlement reached with former players who sued the league about concussions "can provide the kind of benefits that we intended, and were confident that well get there"; --The difficulty in selling out wild-card playoff games resulted from "mistakes that were made by us, the NFL, and our clubs," and not fans fault, and that improving stadium safety "is a critical component"; --The NFL is "not actively considering" allowing players to use marijuana for medical reasons, but "thats something we would never take off the table, if it can benefit our players"; --Selling out all three of next seasons games in London is "just another indication that the more we give fans in the U.K. of NFL football, the more they want" and that the possibility of placing a franchise in that country is closer to reality than a year ago; --He deflected a question about whether hed call a Native American a "Redskin" face-to-face, saying, "Lets not forget this is the name of a football team." ------ AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Rachel Cohen, Tim Booth and Tom Canavan contributed to this report. 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