Two teams still hoping to jumpstart their seasons hook up Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings face off at American Airlines Center.Though the season is only about a quarter old, the Mavericks (4-16) and Kings (7-13) appear headed to the lottery. Missing the playoffs is nothing new for Sacramento, which is working on a decade-long postseason drought.The Kings had high expectations. Instead, this DeMarcus Cousins-led squad has dropped three games in row and eight of the last 11. Sacramento, 11th in the Western Conference, ends a five-game road trip in Dallas.The Kings lost 106-98 at New York on Sunday. Sacramento battled back from a 21-point deficit to make it a game in the fourth quarter before running out of gas.I think well be fine, Darren Collison told the Sacramento Bee. Weve just got to figure out how to compete at a higher level. Not from a physical side, but a mental side, and try to limit our mistakes mentally.Cousins is off to a great start, averaging a career-high 29.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. The seven-year pro is third in the NBA in scoring and 11th in rebounding.Closing out games is point of contention for the All-NBA center.Most guys, adrenaline gets going in those last couple of minutes, Cousins told the Bee. Youre going to find out who has the most heart in those last situations, and (Sunday) it was them. I dont think theres any one thing you can do or talk it over. Its who wants it the most in those last couple minutes.Dallas has failed to qualify for the playoffs only once since 2001. Unless something dramatic happens with this injury-ravaged club, this season will be about ping-pong ball positioning.The Mavericks are without Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut and J.J. Barea. Bogut injured his right knee in Mondays 109-101 loss to Charlotte. Seth Curry (knee) is making progress, but is officially listed as questionable against the Kings.Dallas led for much of the second half before faltering down the stretch. The Hornets outscored the Mavs 34-23 in the fourth quarter to pull away.Two days after their best performance of the season in a 107-82 rout of Chicago, the Mavs fell flat with the game on the line. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle pinned the collapse on a lack of effort late.Why we fell into that, Im not sure, he said. Maybe we were resting on the laurels of our one-game winning streak.Charlotte outrebounded the Mavericks 55-35. Losing Bogut in the first quarter didnt help, but Carlisle didnt use losing his starting center as an excuse.The thing thats most disappointing is the rebounding numbers, he said. After really going toe-to-toe with Chicago and playing even on the boards, we got wiped out (Monday) by 20, which shouldnt happen. That points to effort.Dallas won two of its previous four games before Monday, and was competitive in the other two. That qualified as progress in a campaign thats off to the worst start since Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000.Losing their edge in the fourth quarter against Charlotte -- the Mavs were up 11 in the third -- didnt sit well in the locker room.We just went cold for whatever reason and we just cant do that, Wesley Matthews sad. We have to be crazed dogs from the tip to the final buzzer and that is how we have to play. That is how we have been playing. We have been that way for the last, however many games, we showed that identity.The Mavericks won 22 of the last 27 regular-season meetings against Sacramento, but the Kings claimed three of the four games last season. Zapatillas Nike Just Do It Blancas . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Zapatillas Nike Just Do It . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. http://www.vapormaxbaratas.com/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Vapormax España . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Nike Vapormax Plus Rebajas . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Three wins from gold, and still no reason to think it will be easy for the U.S. mens basketball team.This is a bumpy road in Rio, but at least the Americans know Klay Thompson is finally along for the ride.Thompson ended an Olympic-long slump with seven 3-pointers and 30 points, and the Americans needed almost all of them to hold off France 100-97 on Sunday.The U.S. won its 50th straight tournament game, but the last three have been nothing like most of the previous 47.Weve obviously had three close games in a row by our standards, forward Kevin Durant said. A win is a win. Weve got to think about how we can be better but we cant be satisfied.Winning by three for the second consecutive game, the U.S. improved to 5-0 and clinched first place in Group A. The Americans open quarterfinal play Wednesday, still the favorite but looking as beatable as ever under Mike Krzyzewski.Their opponents couldnt be determined until the completion of play Monday in the log-jammed Group B, where all six teams are still alive. The U.S. will play whichever team finishes fourth.This isnt a tournament that were going to just dominate, U.S. guard Paul George said. Theres talent around this world and theyre showcasing it. For us, its just figuring out how were going to win. Were having spurts of dominating, but were just not finding ways to put a full 40 minutes together.Nando de Colo and Thomas Heurtel each scored 18 points, carrying France while Tony Parker sat with a toe injury. Every time the Americans built a big lead, the fifth-ranked French chipped away.You cant panic against this team, France forward Nicolas Batum said. Weve been together for a while. Weve been in those games down 15 and have to find a way to come back. Weve got guys experienced, Boris (Diaw) and Tony, myself and De Colo have been with this team for 8-10 years, too.Durant scored 17 points after he took just four shots in the previous game, the Americans 94-91 victory over Serbia on Friday.After pounding China and Venezuela to open the Olympics, the Americans pulled away late to beat Australia 98-88 before edging the Serbs when Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.The Americans could never put away the French in this one, even with Thompson having his first good performance in Rio de Janeiro.Banished to the benchh earlier in the tournament, he rejoined the starting lineup Sunday and came out firing -- and this time, making.dddddddddddd. He entered with just 11 points on 4-for-26 shooting in the first four games.He hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter alone, the last making the lead seem safe at 78-62. But the French were back within four by midway through the fourth before Kyrie Irving threw a falling-down lob pass that Durant slammed down on the fast break.We were up 16 with two minutes left in the third and that was our time to put the game away, Thompson said. We have to learn from it. You cant let up against an explosive team like France.Even a France team missing Parker, the four-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs who had been limited to about 20-25 minutes per game here. Hes been getting back into game shape after missing time during their training when his wife gave birth to their second son last month.This time he didnt play at all because of a toe injury.Hes fine. Hes resting, said French coach Vincent Collet, who also de Colo out in the final minutes after he banged his leg.Parker was hardly missed because de Colo and Heurtel kept carving up a U.S. defense that was expected to be the teams strength but has been vulnerable against the crafty international offenses.Luckily for the Americans, this time they could count on offense from Thompson to get them through.One of the worlds best shooters had been bafflingly bad, missing 13 of his 16 3-point attempts in Rio. Krzyzewski seemed committed to getting him on track in this one and it worked.He had back-to-back 3s midway through the third and the Golden State All-Star looked like a Salpico -- thats Portuguese for Splash -- Brother again with three more in a 2-minute span later in the period.It felt good to see the ball go in, Im not going to lie, but it felt better to get the win, Thompson said. I dont care if I shoot 10 percent the rest of the tournament, if we win the gold medal thats all that really matters. But its something I can build off and it helps.The way things are going, the Americans will take all the help they can get.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '