The Kings have been solid on the road. They showed it against an excellent home team

The Kings opened a short trip without a starter and their top rookie while facing the league’s best team on its home floor.

However, Sacramento has been among the better teams on the road this season. It showed again Sunday night.

Behind 28-point efforts from De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, the Kings left Dallas with a 120-113 victory over the Mavericks. It was their third consecutive victory at the arena.

The Kings improved to 9-7 away from Golden 1 Center, and their winning percentage of 56.3 is fourth-best in the NBA. They are just four wins away from the 13 they had all last season.

“(Dallas) came in and they were rested, they have been playing very well, they are a good team and are very well coached,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “To get a win is big for us, especially with what their home record had been. We wanted to hit first, we did that a little bit, and we had some great performances tonight.”

That the Kings did, and it wasn’t just the backcourt. Nemanja Bjelica was a big factor, too, with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Each starter scored at least 12 points.

The 28-point effort for Hield tied a season high and was the third-highest output for Fox, who has games of 31 and 30.

“De’Aaron and I are always trying to score and make plays,” Hield said. “We are confident and when I’m struggling, Fox and my teammates will give me the confidence to shoot the ball any time.”

Fox tied for the team lead in assists with five. The Kings (16-13) totaled 20 and turned over the ball just nine times, tying a season low.

“I think we are moving the ball a lot better,” Fox said. “We’re getting up and down the court a lot better and we’re getting a lot more possessions. We are playing with one of the fastest paces in the NBA and with the way that we are sharing the ball is definitely great for us. You never really know who is going to have a great game when you’re playing us.”

The Kings snapped the Mavericks’ 11-game winning streak at home while handing them their third loss in 16 games at American Airlines Center. The 86.7 home winning percentage for Dallas (15-13) entering the game was tops in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers (14-3, 82.4 percent) now have that honor.

Sacramento won despite a big game from Mavericks forward Luka Doncic. The rookie, who was drafted one pick after the Kings took Marvin Bagley III at No. 2 overall, had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Fox was complimentary of what he sees from Doncic.

“He is a great player who is playing extremely well for a 19-year-old rookie,” Fox said. “He looks like a veteran on the court” and referenced Doncic’s time in the EuroLeague, so even though he’s considered an NBA rookie, he’s not a first-time professional. “He’s got room to grow, but he is already a good player.”

Doncic said after the game he thought the Kings would take him, but he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and immediately traded to the Mavs.

“I did, I did,” Doncic, the NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November, said when asked if he thought he’d be a King. “Especially because they came to Madrid. We had dinner, so I did ... but it didn’t happen.

“I’m very excited to be in Dallas. I’m just happy to be here. That’s it.”

Up next for the Kings is their third game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at Target Center. Sacramento won the first two meetings, both at home.

For now, the Kings are happy with the victory two days after coming up short against the two-time defending-champion Golden State Warriors at home on Friday night. Still, they realize there’s plenty of work to do.

“It was nice, especially coming off of a bad loss,” Hield said. “We executed well against a good Dallas team, and now we just have to keep on grinding and having fun. Now we head to Minnesota. We are young and we like to have fun. That’s what we do.”

This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 12:10 AM.