DALLAS, TEXAS — The Mavericks found a way to lose their 4 straight consecutive home game against the Sacramento Kings 121-107. Dallas hasn’t had the luck they expected after being rewarded with one of the easiest second half schedules in the NBA, but again what’s on paper isn’t worth anything when it comes down to game time.
Dallas began the first quarter like they were still suffering from the side effects of Julius Randle’s 44 point Friday night. The Mavericks couldn’t find a way to score almost three and a half minutes into the first. Dallas became the team they’ve never strived to be and that is a team that lived and died by Luka Doncic’s production. It took them a bit to get started and once they got their legs under them, they were “competitive” at the most. The Mavericks finished the first quarter trailing the Kings 22-20 points with Kristaps Porzingis leading all Mavericks in scoring with 8 points converting 38% of his shots, but the rest of the team combined to convert on 23% of their shots
Coming into this game the Kings haven’t won a game since the month of March, but showed up to play against Dallas and attacked them from different angles.
The Mavericks slow start bled into the second quarter missing their first two shots of the quarter and turned the ball over 2 times and it gave the Kings they needed in pursuit of breaking their own losing streak. Sacramento attacked the Mavericks in the heart of their defense converting on easy shots in the paint and in transition. Dorian Finney-Smith however did have one of his best quarters of the season knocking down 3 three pointers late in the second quarter. Terence Davis who didn’t score any points in the first quarter scored 15 second quarter points and ex-Mavericks Harrison Barnes scored 12 points.
The Kings converted on 79% of their shots in the second quarter and developed a comfortable 17 point lead going into halftime. Dallas converted on 52% of their shots but the math is simple. Dallas allowed Sacramento to get comfortable in the paint and once they did that, it was no turning back. Dallas dug themselves into another hole one that was close to insurmountable.
It was Dallas’s time to play catch up in the third quarter. Dallas out performed Sacramento from the field shooting 50% and found range from beyond the arc. The Mavericks were successful in their offensive efforts in the second quarter but the unbalanced nature of their overall game is what holds this team back 9 times out of 10. Dallas trailed by double digits for most of the third quarter and only trailed by single digits once and struggled to find a consistent rhythm and it had a lot to do with containing Luka Doncic’s scoring ability. With Doncic struggling Jalen Brunson stepped up in a major way and scored 12 points off the bench through 3 quarters of play. Due to inconsistency on the offensive end and the Kings making easy shots to end any attempt at a Mavericks run, Dallas finished the third trailing the Kings by 10 points.
In the fourth quarter the Mavericks made a strong push but the Kings lead they developed in the first three quarters never wavered. Dallas had an efficient quarter from the field despite their deficit which was the same story in the third quarter but they did so poorly defensively all of their efforts fell flat. The Kings did enough in the first three quarters to only have to play defense and remain steady on the offensive in the fourth quarter to secure an upset win on the road.
The Mavericks are 1-3 in their last 4 games and it seems like they have a high likelihood of playing in the pay-in tournament at the end of the season, and it’s all self inflicted. The only question remains is if they will be the 7th seed or if they will fall even lower in the playoff race. The postseason race is tight and the Mavericks should avoid falling a victim to no momentum and poor seeding come playoff time.
