Dirk Nowitzki, Marquis Daniels and the Dallas Mavericks breathed life into their play-off campaign by defeating the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

German international Nowitzki had 21 points and Daniels scored 11 of his 22 points in the decisive third quarter as the Mavs pulled within 2-1 in their Western Conference first round series with a 104-79 victory.

The Mavericks' high-powered offence is led by the talented trio of All-Star Nowitzki, point guard Steve Nash and Michael Finley, who has been bothered by bruised ribs and back spasms.

With Finley a bit banged up, Daniels has picked up the slack, becoming the team's second-leading post-season scorer.

Daniels has scored 51 points on 21-of-50 shooting while grabbing 19 rebounds in his first three play-off games.

"I think an awful lot of him," Dallas coach Don Nelson said.

"He took what was there and really settled down in the second half. We did more things through him tonight. He responded with an excellent game."

Dallas never trailed but put away the game in the third quarter, when it scored 34 points on 12-of-23 shooting. Daniels made 5-of-6 shots in the period as the Mavericks turned a seven-point half-time edge into an 83-59 cushion.

"I was getting to post up more and use my height advantage," the 6ft 6in Daniels said. "I just wanted to be aggressive once I did get the ball and just take my time with the shots."

Sacramento made just 4-of-16 shots in the third quarter, including 1-of-8 3-pointers. It scored just 27 points in the second half and trailed by as many as 29.

"It is important how teams come out in the third quarter," Sacramento forward Chris Webber said.

"(The Mavericks) played a great game and took it from us."

Antawn Jamison, who left Game Two with tight hamstrings, scored 20 for Dallas, which posted the NBA's best home record during the regular season.

"We felt like we let two games slip away in Sacramento and we wanted to come in and defend our home court," Jamison said.

"We wanted to bring a lot of energy and feed off the fans."

Finley scored 18 points, despite the nagging injuries, but Nash was limited to seven and five assists.

Webber and Team USA guard Mike Bibby scored 22 points apiece to lead the Kings, who shot just 36 percent (28-of-75) from the floor and committed 26 turnovers.

"We have to have more movement," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said.

"Unless (the Mavericks) became Detroit, Indiana and San Antonio rolled into one, a lot of it has to do with us."

Kings All-Star Peja Stojakovic of Serbia & Montenegro was scoreless in the second half and finished with just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting in 31 minutes. Doug Christie made only 2-of-10 shots, scoring all five of his points in the fourth quarter.

Game Four is Monday at Dallas.