Kings match worst loss of season and get knocked down in standings
The Kings have been much better defensively in the month of March, but they had no answer for Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night in Sacramento.
Doncic posted 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead the Mavericks to a 132-96 victory before a sellout crowd of 17,832 at Golden 1 Center and a national television audience on TNT.
Kyrie Irving had 24 points and eight assists for the Mavericks (43-29), who moved ahead of the Kings for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to score 22 points.
“We got our behinds kicked, starting with me all the way down,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points on 6-of18 shooting for the Kings (42-30), who will play host to the Mavericks again on Friday. Keegan Murray scored 17 points. Domantas Sabonis had 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting with 11 rebounds and nine assists. Sabonis recorded his 55th consecutive double-double, tying Jerry Lucas (1968) for the longest such streak in franchise history. Sabonis kept his streak alive one night after breaking Kevin Love’s record for the longest single-season double-streak since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
The Kings and Mavericks were tied for sixth in the West when the night began, two games behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 5 seed and a half-game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the seventh spot. When the night was over, the Pelicans had lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Mavericks had beaten the Kings. The Mavericks are now in sole possession of sixth, one game behind the Pelicans.