The best kind of basketball is basketball with stakes. And tonight in Sacramento, the stakes were abundant. The Kings hosted the Dallas Mavericks for the first of two consecutive matchups that could potentially decide which of these two teams ends up in the play-in tournament for post season play. Both teams entered tonight’s game with a 42-29 record, with the Kings barely hanging onto the 6th seed over the Mavericks for their two previous wins against them earlier in the season. Dallas entered Sacramento on a four-game win streak, looking to take over that coveted 6th seed. The Kings aimed to hold onto that 6th seed for dear life and push Dallas back down in the standings. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 132-96
Sacramento Kings: 132 pts, 38.9% fg, 36.7% 3 pt, 78.9% ft, 27 ast, 42 reb, 14 to
Dallas Mavericks: 96 pts, 55.4% fg, 56.4% 3 pt, 61.5% ft, 33 ast, 50 reb, 9 to
It seems that someone forgot to inform the Sacramento Kings about the stakes tonight. Things were fun to start, as Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis got off to hot starts and fueled the Kings on both ends of the floor. The Kings finished the first quarter trailing by just 3 points. De’Aaron Fox (18 points) had a moment in the second quarter to keep the Kings in it, but Luka Doncic started to heat up and finished with 26 of his 28 points in the first half. Then things just went completely off the rails in the third quarter as Kyrie Irving took over – after scoring just 6 points in the first half, Irving flipped the switch and scored 18 points in second half to put the Kings away by the middle of the third quarter. It felt like death by a thousand daggers – when Doncic and Irving weren’t taking turns hitting tough, contested shots, Tim Hardaway Jr. (22 points) and P.J. Washington (14 points) were drilling open 3s all night long.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Cleaning the Glass: One of the few categories the Kings managed to come out on top was in cleaning up the defensive glass. They only allowed Dallas to secure 5 offensive rebounds. However, this was probably due to the fact that 55.4% of the time, the ball was going through the net. I don’t know, I felt like I had to write something here.
The Bad:
- Lack of Awareness: Luka Doncic was listed as questionable prior to tip off for achilles soreness. If this is what Luka Doncic looks like with a sore achilles, then I want no business seeing him with a healthy one. But despite his tough shot making on offense, which sometimes you just have to live with, the Kings really missed an opportunity to capitalize on Luka’s defensive weakness. Even with a healthy achilles, Luka isn’t known for his defensive prowess. But aside from the first play of the game that found Keegan Murray a wide open shot out of a curling hand off, the Kings showed no awareness or intention of attacking Luka with targeted pick and roll actions. Dallas showed a clear intention in their game plan, while the Kings seemed to not have one ready for Dallas tonight.
- Forced Play: The Kings were forced out of their style of play as the Mavericks focused on eliminating their transition game. The Kings failed to score any fast break points in the first half, and once forced into constant half court possessions, struggled to find any real momentum. Compounding on this struggle, the Kings shot just 36.7% from the 3-point line, severely limiting their offensive production. Even when they were able to execute inside out actions and find shooters, shots just weren’t falling at a great rate. Dallas’ bigs provided a formidable presence in the paint, altering a lot of Sacramento’s drives to the rim. The Kings let Dallas dictate their style of play tonight and when an opponent is able to do that, it’s usually not going to work out in your favor.
- Drilled to Death: There’s something about Golden 1 Center that gives opposing teams the best shooting night of their lives. Tonight was no different as it felt like the Mavericks just couldn’t miss. They made 22-39 from deep, often finding themselves wide open as the Kings focused on stopping Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. To his credit, Dereck Lively II did a good job of finding open shooters after receiving the ball at the high post out of double teams on Luka. P.J. Washington, Tim Hardaway Jr.m and Dante Exum all enjoyed cashing in on these open 3s.
The Ugly:
- On National TV, though?: In a regular season game in March that gets as close to a playoff atmosphere as you can get, the Kings were given the opportunity to perform on a national stage. Instead, they broke both legs. In front of everyone, the Kings practically handed the 6th seed over to the Mavericks. The only silver lining is that they have an opportunity to take it back on Friday.
The King of Kings
I guess on a night when nothing felt good, we can always rely on Domantas Sabonis to give us a stat line to brag about. Completing his 55th consecutive double double, Sabonis finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Up Next
Friday, March 29th vs. Dallas Mavericks – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
