by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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This was the Mary, Queen of Scots of basketball games. The Mavericks were always in the executioner's role, always with the biggest weapon and the strategically superior position. But damn if they didn't have to hack at the Kings repeatedly to get the job done. "Put the kids to bed, Sally, the Kings are in town!"

Dallas ended up winning 104-102, though it was basically a three-possession game for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Kings had the deficit at three points a couple times, but couldn't do enough to stop the Jasons Terry and Kidd. Sacramento ended up scoring 37 points in the fourth, a figure not terribly bloated by the foul party at game's end. But Dallas scored 36 of their own, cinching up the win.

Tyreke Evans was unbelievable, finishing with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He actually threatened the triple-double mark the entire fourth, having hung on nine assists and seven rebounds until the final, superfluous play. That's how awesome Evans's floor game was through three quarters, while he made his biggest late-game contributions in the scoring ledger. 'Reke had 13 points on six FGAs in the fourth, including 10 in the last six minutes.

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Use this thread now. Post-game thread will magically appear at 8:15 PM Pacific.

Sorry y'all, can't watch the game tonight. Something more serious weighing on my mind right now.

Just kidding! Y'all know where my heart lies. It's Paul Westphal you need to crack. (SPOILER ALERT! Donte Greene started Tuesday.)

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More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah rips out his still beating heart just to find out what it looks like after scoring late in the fourth quarter in the Bulls 101-87 win over the Sacramento Kings in their NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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Honestly, given the injury to Kevin Martin, five wins by the end of the November is a minor miracle. And there will be more on the next homestand (which includes the 1-9 Knicks and the 0-11 Nets), so let's not shovel dirt on the .500 Sacramento Kings just yet. But we knew the team was a bit over its head, specifically in a few key areas, and Tuesday's loss to Chicago reaffirmed that.

Sacramento's frontcourt is still in a bit of trouble, despite the fantastic growth of Jason Thompson's game. Joakim Noah dominated the game without a single play drawn up for him. He did a great job on the offensive glass, getting easy tips when the Kings bigs didn't box him out. At the other end, he helped force J.T. into 3-7 shooting (with none of those FGAs outside of five feet). Thompson and Kenny Thomas still led the Kings to a good overall showing on the offensive glass (13 rebounds in 42 opportunities), but that resulted in few points because the Kings shot terribly (31-60 on twos, a disastrous 4-21 on threes) and had more turnovers than an Austrian bakery. (Patissierie metaphor! Like what!)

Exactly two Kings scored efficiently, and if I told you one of them is named Donte Greene you'd burn me at the stake. Sergio Rodriguez -- ! -- was the other. Yes, this team's offense depended on superlative efforts from Donte Greene and Sergio Rodriguez. I don't mean this expression of surprise as a dismissal of the extensive talents of either -- I'm the biggest Donte supporter around -- but with all the other options, it's surprising that the young Greene and the denotative Sergio were the models of balance. Tyreke Evans had some monstrous drives and exclamatory defensive stands, but was too often unbalanced and uncomfortable. Spencer Hawes was an abject disaster in evert facet of the game, and his confidence is readably horrible. Beno Udrih wasn't awful, and in fact last season this type of performance would have registered as above average. But without Martin, the Kings need Udrih to be excellent, and he (13 points on 13 FGAs, five assists) was not near excellent.

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Use this thread now.

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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" HAHA! And then the Hamburglar was like, 'Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?' HA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh my god, it was hilarious. ... You had to be there."

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Another day, another rumor.

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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Apparently, the Kings are highly interested in a defensive-minded center. Marc Stein of ESPN reports on TrueHoop that the Kings are in exploratory discussions with Philadelphia and Boston in a deal that would bring centre (boom!) Samuel Dalembert to Sacramento with Kenny Thomas and Andres Nocioni departing. Essentially, it brings in Dalembert, whose defense is well-reputed but whose offense and sometimes attitude is disastrous, for two seasons while cutting some salary off this season's ledger and freeing the team from Nocioni's longer contract. Here are the full contract details for the only three players who matter to Sacramento. (Boston, who would receive Nocioni, would also send a couple of dudes to Philly.) As always with matters of salary, thanks be to ShamSports (who you can also follow for pithy remarks, obscure transaction news and feuds with Sam Amick [no really!] on Twitter: @ShamSports).

The Kings would save a solid $4 million this season, give or take as roughly 10 percent of the season's salary has already been paid out. Next season, the Kings would have $46 million in payroll on the books instead of $40 million, and would be out of the running for a major free agent chase, barring something unexpected with the salary cap. The Kings would gain $6.7 million in space in 2011-12  (putting the team at $34 million in commitments without accounting for Spencer Hawes's extension) as the then-31 Nocioni would no longer be on the books. Nocioni's 2012-13 salary is a team option, which is unlikely to be picked up by any team, unless Bueno Aires grabs an expansion club and Dorothy Nocioni is the owner. So basically, the Kings would save roughly $4 million this season, spend an extra $6 million next season and save $6.7 million in '11-12. A net savings of roughly $4.5 million over three seasons.

That's the money situation. What about the talent?

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