Drama in Dallas: Doncic gets ejected, Haliburton gets hurt, Bagley gets hot in Kings’ win
Tyrese Haliburton got hurt, Marvin Bagley III got hot and Luka Doncic got ejected Sunday evening as the Kings handed the Dallas Mavericks another frustrating loss.
Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Bagley nearly posted a double-double, leading the Kings to a 111-99 victory at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Bagley had 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting with nine rebounds and three assists, helping the Kings beat the Mavericks for the third time in 15 days to complete a surprising sweep of the season series.
Kings coach Luke Walton praised Bagley, who started in the second game of his return from a broken hand with De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Chimezie Metu all out of the lineup.
“Really happy for Marvin,” Walton said. “When he gets hurt, he works his tail off and he comes back and he’s ready to play. Clearly, he was a big part of us having success tonight.”
Richaun Holmes added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (27-37), who have won three of four and five of eight. Haliburton had 11 points and five assists before leaving the game with a left knee injury in the third quarter.
Doncic had 30 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks (36-28). He was ejected along with coach Rick Carlisle after picking up his second technical foul with 31.8 seconds remaining. The Kings have been widely criticized for choosing Bagley over Doncic with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but Doncic is now 3-7 all-time against Sacramento. Sunday’s loss was a costly one for the Mavericks, who are now tied for fifth in the Western Conferene and in danger of falling into the play-in range.
“It’s another game for us,” Bagley said. “Dallas is obviously a great team. They’ve got a lot of great players. Luka’s a great player, so we just try to lock in, follow the game plan and just come out with energy like we would do with any other game. So that’s our mindset. I wouldn’t give it any extra. We’ve just got to keep continuing to lock in and be together, and I think we did a nice job with that. We went 3-0 against these guys and they’ve got a great team over there, so that’s all that is.”
Haliburton scored nine points in the first 3:12 to help the Kings jump out to a 14-7 lead. Hield’s third 3-pointer of the game put Sacramento up 32-22 with 2:05 to play in the opening period. The Mavericks came back to tie the game midway through the second quarter, but the Kings led 61-54 after shooting 57.1% from the field in the first half.
The Kings were up 70-65 when Haliburton went down with 7:30 to play in the third quarter. Haliburton was eventually helped to his feet and led to the locker room, where he was evaluated by the team’s medical staff. A short time later, the Kings announced Haliburton would not return to the game. Walton said Haliburton will undergo an MRI on Monday morning.
“He’ll get an MRI tomorrow and we’ll hope for the best,” Walton said. “We won’t know anything until tomorrow. We’ll find out after the MRI. … I’m not going to guess on it. We’ll find out tomorrow. We’re very hopeful that it’s not (serious), but there’s no reason for me to guess right now. We’ll just wait and hear back from the medical staff tomorrow.”
Despite the loss of Haliburton, Hield and Bagley helped the Kings extend their lead to 18 early in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks cut the deficit to five with 4:02 remaining, but Delon Wright made a series of driving layups against his former team to help the Kings hold on for the win.
“It feels great,” Wright said. “They traded me last year, so it felt good to get three wins in like two weeks against them.”
Pool report
The NBA issued a pool report after the game regarding the ejections of Carlisle and Doncic. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon conducted the interview with crew chief Rodney Mott.
Question: Why was the first technical foul called on Luka Doncic?
Mott: “The first technical foul was called after a correct call, offensive foul, and in transition he runs past me and he screams “hell no” as he shakes his fist, which is a disrespectful response to a referee that is unsportsmanlike.”
Question: Why was the second technical foul called on Doncic?
Mott: “The second technical foul was called for throwing the ball due to frustrations of a call, throwing the ball the length of the court in an overt manner, which is also an unsportsmanlike technical foul.”
Question: Why was that unsportsmanlike instead of delay of game?
Mott: “We had a timeout and he takes the ball and he doesn’t throw it to the nearest official. He throws the ball the length of the court, which makes it an unsportsmanlike act. The rule clearly states that you have to hand the ball to the nearest official.”
Question: Why was the second technical foul called on Rick Carlisle?
Mott: “Rick Carlisle called a timeout and then he came out on the floor and he addressed the official in a disrespectful manner using vulgarity, which was his second technical foul, so therefore he was ejected.”
Ruled out
The Kings were shorthanded again after Fox, Barnes, Metu and Robert Woodard II were all ruled out.
Fox missed his fifth game due to NBA health and safety protocols. Barnes was held out for the third game in a row due to left adductor tightness. Metu was out with lower back soreness after taking a hard fall in Friday’s 110-106 victory over the Lakers. Woodard was out with lower back soreness as well.
Up next
The Kings will continue their four-game road trip when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Kings and Thunder haven’t faced each other yet this season, but they will meet three times in a span of eight days with Oklahoma City coming to Sacramento for a two-game set May 9-11.
The Thunder (21-43) has lost three in a row since beating the Boston Celtics last week to snap a 14-game losing streak. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 23.7 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds, but he has been out since March 22 due to plantar fasciitis. Luguentz Dort is averaging 14.3 points per game.
Injury report
Kings: OUT — Harrison Barnes (adductor); De’Aaron Fox (health and safety protocols); Chimezie Metu (back); Robert Woodard II (back).
Mavericks: OUT — Tim Hardaway Jr. (ankle); Kristaps Porzingis (knee); Tyrell Terry (personal).
Kings upcoming schedule
May 4 at Oklahoma City Thunder, 5 p.m.
May 5 at Indiana Pacers, 5 p.m.
May 7 vs. San Antonio Spurs, 7 p.m.
May 9 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m.
May 11 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 7 p.m.
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
