DALLAS — First, Doug Christie sprained his right ankle. Then Peja Stojakovic did the same.
The Sacramento Kings, however, do not go away easily. They withstood the cowbells, kazoos and assorted noisemakers Thursday night for a 125-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
"We just wanted to stay together," Sacramento's Vlade Divac said. "When you're shorthanded you want to show more determination."
The Kings lead the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal 2-1, with Game 4 Saturday in Dallas.
Christie persevered to score 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
"The doctors wanted me to wait until Saturday, but I saw Peja out so I wanted to get back out there," said Christie, who is probable for Saturday.
Chris Webber and Mike Bibby responded for the Kings, frustrating the Mavericks with a two-man game of inside muscle and outside shooting.
Webber finished with 31 points and 15 rebounds, while Bibby added 29 points on 5-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Divac had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
"I'm getting to feeling better with Mike every day," Webber said. "I'm glad I'm getting into a groove where I can complete his passes."
Michael Finley had 37 points for Dallas, while Raef LaFrentz added 24 points and 13 rebounds.
The capacity crowd of 20,265 at American Airlines Center sent the decibels soaring in Dallas.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban encouraged fans to bring noisemakers in response to Sacramento fans clanging cowbells behind Dallas' bench during the first two games.
Just before Thursday's game, a local company distributed about 500 cowbells to spectators behind the Kings' bench.
A fan gave a drumstick to those holding big cowbells for maximum volume. Minority owner Linda Carter brought a large cowbell to her courtside seat.
The cacophony began about an hour before tip-off and lasted throughout. It didn't seem to bother the Kings much.
"I have fun in situations like that," Bibby said. "Them being loud and rowdy got me going. You can't play in a better atmosphere."
Things looked bleak for the Kings when Christie tumbled to the court in the second quarter and was carried to the locker room. The team said he would not return.
But when Stojakovic was injured with 5:09 left in the third quarter and also was carried off the court, Christie returned with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Stojakovic didn't return but Christie took over. He went 6-for-6 from both the field and line. Following a 3-pointer by Dallas' Steve Nash that pulled the Mavericks within 111-107, Christie hit from beyond the arc on the next possession.
"Doug's so tough. I was worried when he left," Webber said. "Not many players have his heart."
The Mavericks put up little resistance on defense, allowing the Kings to shoot 53 percent. Sacramento also outrebounded Dallas 47-38.
"We've got to take some pride in defense," Finley said. "We've got to make it more difficult for them."