Fourth-quarter heroics from Fox and Hield help Kings rally to beat Mavericks 125-121

Buddy Hield made a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help the Kings storm back for a 125-121 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

De’Aaron Fox had 23 points and eight assists for the Kings (37-37), who have won three of their last four games. Harrison Barnes scored 18 points. Hield had 17.

Luka Doncic finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for the Mavericks (20-45), posting his seventh double-double of the season to tie Magic Johnson for the third-most by a rookie in NBA history.

Fox made a number of big plays in the final minutes, repeatedly going to the basket. He made a driving layup and six free throws in the final 2:27 to help the Kings hold on for the win.

“He’s so talented,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “He’s so fast, too. What can you say? He got very competitive.”

Barnes was active early in his first trip to Dallas since the Mavericks sent him to Sacramento for Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph on the eve of the NBA trade deadline. Barnes, who later received a standing ovation from fans following a video tribute, made a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to help the Kings outscore the Mavericks 19-9 over the first six minutes.

Dallas got within two by the end of the first quarter, cut the deficit to one on a 3-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki early in the second and took a 33-32 lead on an alley-oop dunk by Dwight Powell moments later. The Mavericks went up by six on a free throw by Doncic after Joerger was assessed a technical foul, but the Kings trailed by only two at halftime.

The Kings trailed by eight with 4:40 to play, but Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic made 3-pointers to fuel a 10-2 run as Sacramento rallied to tie the score. Hield made a 3-pointer to put the Kings up 119-116 with 1:07 remaining. Fox took care of the rest.

“Those two guys are very good,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Fox, once again, was an enormous problem.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 8:53 PM.