By AP, JPOST.COM STAFFcasspi takes on kobe 248.88 ap(photo credit: AP)
Israel's Omri Casspi scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds but his Sacramento Kings were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday 99-91. Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points to help Dallas improve to a Western Conference-best 12-5 on the road.
Jose Barea scored 17 points and Josh Howard added 16 points for the Mavericks.
The Kings have now dropped five of six.
It was a second straight strong performance by Casspi, who scored 23 points in his team's loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Casspi hit eight of 13 shots, including three of four from beyond the arc, but Kobe Bryant's buzzer-beating three-pointer made sure the defending NBA champions overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the Kings 109-108.
"We're going to see them again. We're going to be ready to compete again, you know. The Lakers are an amazing team," said Casspi, who also grabbed six rebounds and passed three assists in 41 minutes on court.
