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Kings 113, Mavericks 106: Kings prove to be Mavericks kryptonite

THE KINGS AIN'T NEVER LOST... to the Mavericks.
By | 29 Comments | Apr 26, 2021

Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings entered the second half of this back-to-back wounded after a very weird loss to the Golden State Warriors last night. Not weird because they lost, but weird in that they only lost by four points and even had a chance to win had it not been for a Buddy Hield blunder that was somehow both unbelievable and not surprising at all. Statistically speaking, the Kings don’t perform well on the second game of a back-to-back, losing seven out of ten so far this season. And statistically speaking, the Kings don’t win basketball games without De’Aaron Fox, losing both of the games he’s been out so far this season. BUT statistically speaking, the Kings do beat the Dallas Mavericks, remaining undefeated against them so far this season (1-0 is still technically undefeated). Since statistics mean nothing when it comes to predicting anything about this team, let’s just see how they did:

Quick Stats

Outcome: Kings win, 113-106

Sacramento Kings: 113 PTS, 51.9% FG, 44.8% 3 PT, 88.9% FT, 23 AST, 16 TO

Dallas Mavericks: 106 PTS, 46.7% FG, 28.6% 3 PT, 57.1% FT, 24 AST, 10 TO

The Sacramento Kings remain undefeated against the Dallas Mavericks this season, led by a double-double from Tyrese Haliburton (14 PTS, 10 AST) and an efficient 24 points in 25 minutes from Richaun Holmes. Luka Doncic finished with 24 points and eight assists. The ending was a bit anti-climactic from both teams, filled with airballs, turnovers, and a jump ball. But the Kings win and that’s all that matters!!!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
  1. Hot Start: Halfway through the first quarter, the Kings secured a 20-3 lead to force the Mavericks into their second timeout and everyone paused to wonder what the hell was going on. Hot shooting, high energy, and sound defense from the Kings, paired with cold shooting and just one point from Luka Doncic gave the Kings a 14-point lead heading into the second quarter. Harrison Barnes drained three 3-pointers to give the Kings some momentum, while Richaun Holmes and Damian Jones provided disciplined defensive coverage on Luka when forced into switches. The Kings executed defensively by forcing the ball out of Luka’s hands and making other players take shots, which they luckily missed, and the Mavs ended the quarter 0-9 from deep. Seeing the Kings be the better team on both ends of the floor for an entire quarter was surprising, entertaining, and dare I say… FUN???
  2. Offensive Movement: In the absence of De’Aaron Fox, the Kings had to adjust their offense and find more complex ways to score. This meant more movement and less ball watching. The Kings finished with 23 assists, with nine of those completed in the first quarter when they looked their most efficient. Tyrese Haliburton showed no rookie reservations tonight as he led the offense with poise and professionalism. It was not a coincidence that the Kings worst offense occurred when Tyrese was either on the bench or only touching the ball for the first time late in the shot clock. His ability to facilitate and create offense was crucial for the Kings tonight.
The Bad:
  1. Boban Assassination: After an exciting first quarter for the Kings, Rick Carlisle decided to use his secret weapon and sent Boban Marjanovic into the game. True to the nature of his movie character, Ernest, who he played in the incredible movie, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Boban came ready to assassinate. In just eight minutes, Boban bullied his way to 10 points on 4-4 from the field. Just like an assassin, he came, he killed, and he left, never to be seen again. The bad part in all of this was Luke Walton’s inability to adjust to the size disadvantage that Mo Harkless was gravely suffering against Boban. He finally got Chimezie Metu in to pair with Damian Jones as a response to Boban’s destruction, but the damage was already done.
The Ugly:
  1. Diminishing Discipline: After such a good start, we saw the Kings fall back into bad habits and lack the focused discipline that got them their early success. Through the middle parts of the game, the Kings fell into some isolation offense again with little movement and no creativity. Defensively, we saw the Kings fall back into lazy rotations, blow by closeouts, and missed rebounds. They were able to put enough together tonight, but if they ever want to be a serious contending team, the Kings will need to learn how to play disciplined basketball for more than 12 minutes.
The King of Kings

For the second night in a row of filling the very fast shoes of De’Aaron Fox, tonight’s crown goes to Tyrese Haliburton. It was clear that he was this team’s focal point, as he efficiently facilitated the offense, finishing with 10 assists. He also hit some big shots down the stretch and made timely plays to keep the Kings on top during crunch time. In some ways, he is almost a harder assignment in crunch time than Fox, since he passes just as much as he scores, so it’s hard to know what he will do. Fox, on the other hand, is so dominant in scoring, that you can almost bet on him taking the big shot. As the youngest player on the roster, Tyrese stepped up as the leader this team needed tonight.

Up Next

Wednesday, April 28th vs. Utah Jazz – 7:00 P.M. (PT)

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RandyBreuersNeckHair
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April 26, 2021 10:09 pm

This stupid franchise.

RikSmits
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April 27, 2021 6:04 am

What could have been…

8BC3A339-9489-4072-A599-0AB3E0790C7C.jpeg
jwalker1395
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April 27, 2021 7:10 am
Reply to  RikSmits

Don’t know what’s dumber: not packing in the season cuz of a lame duck coach desperately trying to win or the fact that this is what the team looks like when the lame duck coach is desperately trying to win.

Ellis5
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April 26, 2021 10:14 pm
Reply to  RowJimmy

Good luck with that… this sight has an overlord…. ironic yes.

andy_sims
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April 26, 2021 10:21 pm

comment image

Migz
April 26, 2021 11:12 pm

Is it weird that I like Harkless?

andy_sims
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April 26, 2021 11:32 pm
Reply to  Migz

He’s one of those guys that does the dirty work. Spoelstra is a great coach, but he was apparently not thrilled with Miami signing Harkless back in November. Mo seems like an ideal fit on a team like the Heat, and it’s not like they’ve been in such a great groove that he couldn’t get off the bench. Odd.

He makes about $3.6 mil this year, and I wouldn’t mind having him back for 2-3 years at a number like that.

BeTheBall
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April 27, 2021 12:20 pm
Reply to  andy_sims

I concur

eddie41
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April 27, 2021 8:14 am
Reply to  Migz

He’s grown on me also. Good pick up.

Ellis5
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April 26, 2021 11:21 pm

I think the NBA should allow small market teams to collaborate.

KingOfTheMonsters
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April 27, 2021 8:38 am
Reply to  Ellis5

Just imagine Halliburton, Fox and Doncic were on the same team.

RowJimmy
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April 26, 2021 11:24 pm

traitorous cooperation with an enemy?

Ellis5
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April 26, 2021 11:28 pm

Nevah Loss! Thank you Mirann

Kui
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Kui
April 26, 2021 11:39 pm

Great game, love watching Hali as the main facilitator. I also like the John Wick reference, since I just watched the movie a couple nights ago.

02kingsfan
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April 27, 2021 12:10 am

I wonder if doncic would want to sign with us so he never have to lose to us again…..

Bbmuteman
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April 27, 2021 3:59 am
Reply to  02kingsfan

He’s doing the kings a favor. Free wins for not drafting him to basketball hell. 😉

Jman1949
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April 27, 2021 7:16 am
Reply to  02kingsfan

But he’ll take the ball out of Fox’s Hali’s hands!

Carina707
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April 27, 2021 7:24 am

Rooting for close losses for higher lottery odds…..yet I don’t mind if we beat LAL or the Mavs 😂

RobHessing
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April 27, 2021 8:03 am

Giants were winning by 12 last night, but “Disco” going for the complete game shutout held more interest for me than this game.

Bring on the off-season!

Marty
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April 27, 2021 8:09 am
Reply to  RobHessing

Yea I turned it off in the 2Q to watch A Knight’s Tale, a cheesy film I’ve seen at least ten times. That’s what chasing the eight seed looks like Vivek.

Starting to really question what’s the point of following a zombie franchise that simply exists to provide revenue to the NBA pot, so superstars can gather together in the same old relevant places.

KingOfTheMonsters
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April 27, 2021 8:42 am
Reply to  Marty

The pathetic seasons have worn away at my fandom.
Listening to the recent THK podcast with the stories about Vivek’s meddling and hubris makes it even harder to root for this team.
I don’t want any Kings’ victories to reflect on Vivek.
Hell, part of me wants my favorite players to flee to other teams.
As for the lottery? The Kings don’t deserve a good pick. It is not because of bad luck that this team is pathetic. It is hubris from the owner and years of mismanagement.
When the Kings walk into a bar, Lady Luck should sneak out the back door.

Kingsguru21
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April 27, 2021 8:31 am
Reply to  RobHessing

I only watched the game because I was at work and had nothing better to do. A’s game was already over. I didn’t even bother to watch the game in SF Sunday night. Too busy watching Netflix.

satdawg
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April 27, 2021 3:28 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Go Giants! They’re doing their thang right now at 15-8. I smell playoffs

SactownSportsfan
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April 27, 2021 8:04 am

I know losses are more important than wins to this team right now, but if we get a win because Tyrese is leading us to one, I’m okay with it. I still can’t believe we lucked out and he fell to us at 12. Watching the youngest guy on the roster take control of the team like he has with Fox out has been fun, regardless of how putrid this team is as a whole.

RikSmits
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April 27, 2021 8:37 am

OT, this just made me laugh:




andy_sims
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April 27, 2021 10:35 am
Reply to  RikSmits

You could hardly find a better example of cognitive dissonance, although there are thousands from which to choose.

KingOfTheMonsters
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April 27, 2021 8:44 am

Mirann, just a nicely written story. A good balance of the key points of the game, the history btw the teams and your own fun style. No pretension.
Well done. You are a very good writer.

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