SACRAMENTO: There's little doubt the Sacramento Kings are a much different team with DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup.

The All-Star forward was certainly a difference-maker in his return Monday night. He scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter of a 112-98 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Cousins missed the previous three games due to a lower back strain. The Kings are 1-7 without him this season and 6-5 with the big man in the lineup. They are 12-40 when he's been absent since Cousins joined the club in 2010.

Rajon Rondo had 21 points and Rudy Gay added 20 for the Kings, who had dropped six straight to Dallas and 21 of the previous 23 meetings. Sacramento outscored the Mavericks 22-13 in the third period to take the lead for good.

Darren Collison added 15 points and Omri Casspi 10 for the Kings. Chandler Parsons had 14 points for the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 and Zaza Pachulia had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Harris added 11 points.

Dallas, which has dropped four of five, missed 28 of 37 attempts from 3-point range and scored 40 points in the second half. Cousins shot 5 of 9 from the field in the fourth and hit all six free throws to help Sacramento build on its third-quarter lead. Gay converted a three-point play to give the Kings a 97-86 advantage.

Sacramento got more aggressive defensively in the third quarter and it paid off. Gay scored seven early points and the Kings held Dallas to 22.7 shooting and 13 points in taking a 76-71 lead into the fourth.

Quarter by quarter

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL SCORE

Sacramento Kings 23 31 22 36 112
Dallas Mavericks 32 26 13 27 98

Results: Detroit Pistons 116 beat Houston Rockets 105, Boston Celtics 105 beat Miami Heat 95, Atlanta Hawks 106 beat Oklahoma City Thunder 100, Chicago Bulls 92, beat San Antonio Spurs 89, Milwaukee Bucks 92 beat Denver Nuggets 74, Golden State Warriors 106 beat Utah Jazz 103, Sacramento Kings 112 beat Dallas Mavericks 98, Los Angeles Clippers 102, Portland Trailblazers 87