How the Kings’ backcourt showed out in a matchup with Luka Doncic and the Mavericks
The backcourt duo of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield led the Kings to a 120-113 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night at American Airlines Center. Here are three takeaways from the game:
Guards guide the way
When talk of the best NBA backcourts surfaces, it usually starts with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
Other teams often mentioned are the Houston Rockets (James Harden and Chris Paul), Portland Trail Blazers (Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum) and Washington Wizards (John Wall and Bradley Beal).
The Kings’ duo of Fox and Hield could soon be a big part of that conversation. They each scored 28 points to tie for game-high honors.
Hield enters Monday’s game at the Minnesota Timberwolves leading the Kings in scoring with 19.2 points per game, while Fox is second at 18.5.
Bjelica is more than a shooter
When the Kings signed Nemanja Bjelica, it was widely thought his value would be in outside shooting and helping stretch the floor for Fox and the point guards.
Bjelica is proving to be an asset on defense as well.
He had four of the Kings’ seven blocked shots against Dallas and with 22 this season is second on the team behind rookie big man Marvin Bagley III, who didn’t play Sunday after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee in Friday night’s loss to the Warriors.
Bjelica also had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Luka is legit
The NBA draft took place almost six months ago, but there are still people connected to the Kings — media and fans alike — who can’t seem to let go of the fact that Sacramento used the No. 2 overall pick to select Bagley instead of Slovenian forward Luka Doncic, who went one slot later.
The anticipated first meeting between Doncic, acquired by the Mavericks in a draft-day trade with the Atlanta Hawks, and Bagley didn’t happen, but that didn’t stop Doncic from having another solid game.
The NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the loss.
Kings coach Dave Joerger was complimentary of the rookie before the game.
“Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him,” Joerger said. “I don’t see it, unfortunately for us. But he’s great for them and he’s great for our league.”
Fortunately for the Kings, Doncic’s performance wasn’t enough to lead the Mavericks to a victory.
This story was originally published December 16, 2018 at 7:03 PM.