De’Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings (24-42) traveled to the American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks (39-25) in part of the NBA’s first Saturday game. Despite not having Luka Doncic in the lineup, the Mavs out-executed the Kings in the clutch to win 114-113.
Much attention was placed on whether Doncic would end up playing and he was ruled out hours before tipoff. Given it is the Mavericks’ Slovenia night, the game was internationally broadcasted in his home country but they were, unfortunately, unable to see him play. The reigning Western Conference Player of the Month is coming off averages of 34.7 points (1st in NBA), 10.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in that span.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Kings vs Mavericks Saturday: Lineups, Injury Reports & Broadcast Info
Spencer Dinwiddie received his first start as a member of the Mavericks and shouldered the responsibility of being the top option on offense. He finished with 36 points and 7 assists on the night. Jalen Brunson provided key backcourt support with 23 points and 6 assists.
The Mavericks withstood a 44-point performance from De’Aaron Fox in this game. He was routinely coming up with big plays that were swinging the momentum, but Dorian Finney-Smith, in particular, came up big for Dallas down the stretch. Overall, he finished with five makes from deep on the night with two of them coming within the final 1:14 of gameplay. With 3.8 seconds left, his final make proved to be the game-winner.
With this win, the Dallas Mavericks are just one game back from the Utah Jazz for fourth in the Western Conference standings. Both teams face off once again on Monday in what will be pivotal in deciding homecourt advantage potentially for the 4/5 first-round matchup.
LATEST NBA NEWS: Kings vs Mavericks Saturday: Lineups, Injury Reports & Broadcast Info
The Sacramento Kings are still working to build chemistry after making the deal to acquire Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers at the NBA trade deadline as they aim to make the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. Right now, they are 13th in the standings, but their pursuit of that sought-after last play-in spot appears to be already short.
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