Dallas ? Despite their league-best record, the Dallas Mavericks have been saying all season that the Sacramento Kings are the team to beat in the NBA. The Kings again showed why Tuesday night.

Although Sacramento had lost two straight and five of six, Keon Clark’s high-flying dunk off a missed three-pointer with 16.5 seconds left gave the Kings a 110-109 victory over the Mavericks in a thrilling showdown of Western Conference division leaders.

Sacramento beat Dallas by 29 three weeks ago, leading the entire game. This one was impressive in its own way considering the Kings had been playing so poorly and were without Chris Webber, who had a triple-double in the previous meeting.

“We didn’t want to go into the All-Star break like we’ve been playing the last couple of games,” said Mike Bibby, who led the Kings with 27 points. “Everyone stepped up for us tonight. We came out with energy and everything turned out great.”

Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki recovered from missing his first eight shots to have 28 points, 16 rebounds and five assists. He missed his last one, though, a 10-footer in the lane after spinning away from Peja Stojakovic and getting a good look at the basket.

Doug Christie grabbed the rebound with about three seconds left and dribbled away in celebration. Sacramento coach Rick Adelman turned to his bench and threw a victory punch, while Vlade Divac smiled and rode away on the back of assistant coach Terry Porter.

“It’s huge,” Adelman said. “They kept coming back at us and it seemed like they were making every shot. We stayed with it and got the ball to bounce the right way at the end.”

The Mavericks had won four straight and seven of eight, including consecutive games decided in the final minutes.

Although those were against solid teams in Minnesota and Utah, Dallas couldn’t do it against an elite team like Sacramento. The Kings eliminated the Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs last season.

Dallas still goes into the All-Star break 38-10, four losses fewer than anyone else, but the Mavericks can’t escape their 0-3 record against Sacramento and San Antonio.

“Keep saying it, it’s fine by us,” said Dallas point guard Steve Nash, who had 13 points and a season-high 14 assists. “We’re not going to roll over and say it’s over because they’ve beaten us twice.”

Sacramento guard Mike Bibby, center, looks for room against Dallas' Shawn Bradley, left, as the Mavericks' Nick Van Exel, right, looks on. Bibby scored 27 points as the Kings defeated the Mavericks, 110-109, Tuesday night in Dallas.

The Mavericks felt the game wasn’t lost at the end, but at the start when the Kings made 13 of their first 17 shots and went on to lead by 16 in the third quarter. Sacramento cooled off and Dallas tied it at 64 early in the third quarter. Neither team led by more than six the rest of the way.

Five straight points by Michael Finley, who scored 28, put the Mavericks ahead 107-106 with 57 seconds left. Then Bibby and Nowitzki traded tough jumpers, leaving Dallas still leading by one.

Sacramento’s Hedo Turkoglu missed a long three-pointer and the rebound went straight up. The long, lanky Clark — who earlier had an amazing one-handed, reverse alley-oop dunk — caught the ball and slammed it through in one motion.

Wizards 93, Cavaliers 84

Washington — Michael Jordan scored 27 points in 43 minutes as Washington beat Cleveland despite the absence of leading scorer Jerry Stackhouse. Despite constant double-teams, Jordan made 13 of 26 shots and had eight assists as the Wizards held off a stubborn challenge by the NBA’s worst team. Neither team led by double digits until the final two minutes, even though starting Cleveland point guard Smush Parker sprained his right ankle on a layup in the first quarter.

Lakers 97, Pacers 94

Indianapolis — Kobe Bryant scored 35 points, Shaquille O’Neal fought off foul trouble for 19 points and 12 rebounds and Devean George hit a key three-pointer as Los Angles beat Indiana. It was the first game between the teams since Reggie Miller and Bryant fought after a Los Angeles win last March at the Staples Center. Bryant threw a punch at Miller and the two landed on the scorers’ table near the Pacers’ bench.

Trail Blazers 96, Magic 89

Orlando, Fla. — Scottie Pippen had his first double-double of the year with 25 points and 17 rebounds and Portland defeated Orlando. Rasheed Wallace added 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots as Portland beat Orlando for the eighth straight time. Bonzi Wells and Ruben Patterson had 12 points each for the Blazers.

Nuggets 102, Bulls 100, OT

Denver — Juwan Howard scored 30 points and Chris Whitney hit five free throws in the final 20.6 seconds of overtime as Denver defeated Chicago and won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 8-10. Donyell Marshall led Chicago, which owns the NBA’s worst road record at 2-24, with 21 points. Jalen Rose added 20 points as the Bulls completed a five-game road trip winless.

Knicks 105, Clippers 92

New York — Latrell Sprewell broke the NBA record for most three-pointers in a game without a miss, going 9-for-9 from behind the arc to lead New York Knicks past Los Angeles.

Sprewell broke the record of 8-for-8 held by Jeff Hornacek, Sam Perkins and Steve Smith, making consecutive threes midway through the fourth quarter to break the record after a 19-point lead had shrunk to nine. Sprewell finished with a season-high 38 points, shooting 14-for-19 overall.

Raptors 98, Bucks 95

Milwaukee — All-Star Vince Carter scored 25 points, two shy of his season high, and blocked the potential tying shot by Ray Allen just ahead of the final buzzer as Toronto beat Milwaukee. Antonio Davis added 16 points, Morris Peterson 14, Voshon Lenard and Jerome Williams 13 each and Alvin Williams 11 for Toronto, which has won four of five since Carter’s return from a knee injury.

Timberwolves 103, Rockets 89

Minneapolis — Kevin Garnett scored 23 points and Rasho Nesterovic added 19 and played tough defense against Yao Ming as Minnesota held off Houston. Garnett grabbed 11 boards and added nine assists for the Timberwolves, who lost by at Houston on Friday.