Regular-season champion Sacramento seized command of a National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff showdown between the league’s most international clubs thanks to their two Yugoslavian stars.

Predrag Stojakovic had 26 points and 10 rebounds while Vlade Divac added 18 points and 16 rebounds to spark the Kings past Dallas 108-91 here on Saturday in the opening game of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Divac and Chris Webber, who overcame early foul trouble to score 20 points and pull down 10 rebounds, dominated inside while Stojakovic’s long-range accuracy made the Mavericks pay when they used extra men in the middle.

The Kings scored 64 points from the lane and out-rebounded the Mavericks 53-43, scoring 22 points off 17 offensive rebounds. Divac dominated on both ends of the court.

The match up between the NBA’s two highest-scoring teams of the season, led by Dallas, featured an up-tempo pace. But when the Kings did not have a quick and easy shot, they threw the ball to Divac and Webber near the basket.

Webber scored 13 points in the third quarter, when the Kings broke open the game.

Dallas shot only 39 per cent, hitting just 35 of 90 attempts, and went without a basket for almost seven minutes of the fourth quarter.

Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged 33.3 points in round one for Dallas was held to 23 points by the Kings on 8-of-24 shooting.

Michael Finley scored 21 points and Canada’s Steve Nash added 12 for Dallas, but the backcourt mates combined to make just 12-of-31 shots.

The Kings had not won a game in this round since moving here from Kansas City in 1985 while Dallas slid to 0-8 in road openers of playoff rounds. Game two is here Monday.

The loss left the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers as the only unbeaten team in the playoffs. Last year the Lakers lost just once on their way to a second consecutive NBA crown.

Other second-round playoff openers were set for Sunday when the Lakers host San Antonio in the West and the Eastern Conference semi-finals open with New Jersey hosting Charlotte and Boston visiting Detroit.