Kings light beam for first time in weeks, beating shorthanded Mavericks to end 6-game skid
The beam is back.
The Kings beat the shorthanded Dallas Mavericks 110-100 on Monday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, ending a six-game losing streak.
When it was over, Kings center Domantas Sabonis joined public address announcer Scott Moak at the scorer’s table to light the beam, signaling victory in Sacramento for the first time since a Dec. 12 road win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
“It felt good, especially after a game like this,” Sabonis said. “Everyone showed up. We fought. It was ugly, but we got the win.”
The Kings fell behind by 18 points in the first quarter despite the absences of several Dallas players, including Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, but they turned the game around to avoid another embarrassing loss. The victory was Sacramento’s first under Doug Christie, who was named interim coach after the Kings fired Mike Brown on Friday.
“Super proud of the guys,” Christie said. “Obviously, it didn’t start out the way we wanted to, but at halftime we challenged them.”
De’Aaron Fox had 33 points, six rebounds and six assists with only one turnover for the Kings (14-18). Fox went 13 of 23 from the field and 3 of 7 from 3-point range. He was steady throughout despite foul trouble, scoring eight points in the first quarter, seven in the second, eight in the third and 10 in the fourth.
Sabonis had 17 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Malik Monk put up 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. DeMar DeRozan and Trey Lyles also scored 14 points.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 30 points to lead the Mavericks (20-13). P.J. Washington scored 28 points. Quentin Grimes added 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Mavericks were missing their three leading scorers and five of their top eight rotation players. Doncic was out with a left hip contusion, Irving was out with right shoulder soreness and Thompson was ruled out due to illness. In addition, Dereck Lively II was out with a left hip contusion and Naji Marshall was serving a league suspension for punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
Christie got emotional before the game when CBS Sacramento’s Jake Gadon asked about his message to fans while accepting a daunting challenge as the Kings try to turn their season around.
“I love you, first, because this is an incredible fan base, but I would say more than anything, know that we are here to put a product out on the floor that makes you proud,” said Christie, who played for the Kings from 2000-05.
“... I think everyone understands who I am and what I’m trying to do, so I don’t need to reiterate that, but first and foremost, there’s steps to that process, and the first step is that when they walk in the doors and they leave the doors, they know that team played their f---ing a-- off.”
There was a funny moment when ESPN 1320’s James Ham told Christie he would be fined for using profanity.
“Am I really?” Christie asked as the room erupted in laughter. “It kind of just came out. I apologize. Why you ask a question like that, man, an emotional question? My bad, I’ll be better.”
The Kings could say that in the end, but the first quarter was hard to watch.
The Kings found themselves trailing 27-15 after the Mavericks went 9 of 15 from the field to start the game. Dallas led by as many as 18 in the opening period while going 7 of 8 from 3-point range, shooting a preposterous 87.5% from beyond the arc. Washington was having his way with Sacramento’s defense, scoring 19 points while going 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 4 from long distance
The Kings finally came alive in the second quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 22-7 over the first 6:37. They cut the deficit to one on a 3-pointer by Malik Monk and took a 45-44 lead on a layup by Sabonis, but that lead was short-lived.
Dallas responded with an 8-0 run to go up 52-45. The Mavericks led 60-56 at the halftime break after holding the Kings to 40.7% shooting.
Sacramento’s frustration started to show midway through the third quarter when Fox was whistled for two personal fouls and a technical foul in a span of five seconds. Fox went to the bench with his fourth foul and the Mavericks went on a run, outscoring the Kings 7-2 to take a 75-66 lead.
Lyles was also called for a technical foul. Kevin Huerter came close to getting one as well.
Christie pulled his players together to form a tight huddle during a timeout while asking them to sharpen their focus.
“We brought them all in, and part of what I want them to understand is that it’s us, so lock arms. Let’s get in here, and let’s have a conversation about what it’s going to take to take the next step, and part of it is facing adversity, regardless of the whistle or anything like that. And I said, ‘Trust me.’ That I will talk to them. I will go at them. I will do everything that I can to shine a light on whatever the situation is, but that can’t derail what we’re trying to do on a night-to-night basis to improve.”
The momentum shifted late in the third quarter when the Kings grabbed four offensive rebounds on a single possession, leading to a basket by Sabonis. On the ensuing possession, Lyles took a charge from Daniel Gafford, leading to a go-ahead basket by Fox.
The Kings outscored the Mavericks 17-2 over the final 4:35 to take an 83-77 lead at the end of the third quarter. They started the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run to go up 91-78 on a 3-pointer by Lyles.
“I think fatigue just caught up to us,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “They got the offensive rebounds. We had done a good job up to that point of rebounding the ball. They then came up the floor and hit a couple of 3s there and that stretched the game out from there.”
The Mavericks, who are fourth in the Western Conference, were clearly not the same team with so many players unavailable.
Sacramento outscored Dallas 48-34 on points in the paint, 28-15 in points off the bench, 25-16 in points off turnovers, 21-12 in fastbreak points and 17-2 in second-chance points.
The Kings also had a 58-36 rebounding advantage. They led by as many as 14 before the Mavericks came back to cut the deficit to eight with 45 seconds remaining, but at that point the Kings were already preparing to light the beam.
“We needed it bad,” Monk said. “I’m happy we got it done. We knew they were going to be down a few guys and we knew the other guys were going to come in to play hard, but I’m glad we took care of business.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 10:46 PM.
