Sacramento Kings self-destruct in season-ending play-in loss to Mavericks
Interim Kings coach Doug Christie said he wanted his team to come out with aggression, force and physicality in Wednesday’s NBA play-in game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Kings gave Christie what he wanted in the first quarter, but they self-destructed in the second as their season ended unceremoniously amid a chorus of boos.
Anthony Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the No. 10 Mavericks to a 120-106 victory over the No. 9 Kings before a sellout crowd of 17,939 at Golden 1 Center.
The Mavericks will visit the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in the final round of the play-in tournament Friday. The winner of that game will advance to the playoffs as the No. 8 seed to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a first-round series beginning Sunday.
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for the Kings, who bowed out in the play-in tournament for the second year in a row after reaching the playoffs in 2022-23.
Zach LaVine had 20 points and nine assists. Domantas Sabonis had 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Klay Thompson scored 23 points for the Mavericks. Brandon Williams came off the bench to score 17. P.J. Washington had 17 points and nine rebounds.
Halftime report
Sacramento trailed 15-7 after giving up two wide-open corner 3s to Naji Marshall as part of a 10-0 run. The Kings answered with a 13-4 run to take a 20-19 lead on a 3-pointer by DeRozan.
The Kings led 29-27 at the end of the opening period, but the Mavericks went up 47-35 after outscoring Sacramento 20-6 to start the second quarter. The Kings committed 10 turnovers in the second period — five by Sabonis — allowing the Mavericks to outscore them 12-0 in points off turnovers.
By the time the half was over, the Mavericks had amassed a 71-48 lead, sucking all the energy out of the building.
Second half
The Kings cut the deficit to 16 after outscoring the Mavericks 16-9 to start the second half, but they couldn’t build any real momentum.
Dallas led 99-81 at the end of the third quarter. Fans started heading for the exits with the Kings trailing by 22 with 6:00 remaining.
Up next
The Kings will hold exit interviews in the days to come as they enter a summer of uncertainty. Kings general manager Monte McNair’s job could be in jeopardy. Christie’s future also must be decided.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 9:33 PM.
