Hield scores 29 points and Bagley outplays Doncic in Kings’ victory over Mavericks
Marvin Bagley III outplayed rookie counterpart Luka Doncic to lead the Kings to a 116-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
Buddy Hield scored 29 points for the Kings (35-36), who bounced back after blowing a 28-point lead in Tuesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Hield made seven 3-pointers, giving him 238 on the season. He needs three more to break the single-season franchise record of 240, set by Kings assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic in 2003-04.
Bagley finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, making 8 of 16 field-goal attempts and 2 of 4 from 3-point range. Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
Doncic, the leading candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year, posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, for the Mavericks (28-44). He made just 4 of 19 from the field and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Justin Jackson scored 19 points in his first visit to Sacramento since the Kings traded him to Dallas for Harrison Barnes on the eve of the trade deadline. Jackson made his first start for the Mavericks after scoring 21 points in Wednesday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jackson acknowledged before the game that the trade was difficult for him to accept.
“It was really hard, one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as far as calling my wife and telling her I just got traded,” Jackson said. “It was tough, but after I got past the shock factor, it’s been good, man.”
The game might have been the last in Sacramento for NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, who is considering retirement after 21 seasons with the Mavericks. Nowitzki received a rousing ovation when he entered the game for the first time with 4:45 to play in the first period. The crowd cheered him again when he made a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to put Dallas up 37-34 with 8:08 remaining in the second quarter.
Kings rookie Harry Giles III left the game after going to the floor for a loose ball early in the second quarter. The Kings later announced Giles had suffered a left thigh contusion and would not return to the game.
The Kings led 53-51 at the halftime break. They staged a 17-3 run early in the third quarter to take a 71-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Hield. The Mavericks cut the deficit to seven points on a driving layup by Trey Burke with 3:30 to play in the third and got within six on two free throws by Devin Harris early in the fourth, but they couldn’t get any closer.
This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 9:28 PM.
