Kings 115, Mavericks 100: Kings still undefeated in November (Please check!)

The Sacramento Kings are winless no more, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 115-100 to earn their first win of the season.  Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. led the game in scoring with 25 points, but it was really the bench finally showing up that really helped the Kings seal the deal.  Leaky Black (12 points, 4 steals) and Emanuel Sharp (9 points, 3 rebounds) helped change the tone of the game, and Malik Monk finally returned to form, scoring 24 points off the bench to go with 7 assists.  It was the first game yet this season where the Kings bench managed to outscore the other team’s bench.

A big reason for the Kings win tonight was their physicality and outside shooting.  The Mavericks started pretty cold from three despite getting some open looks, but the Kings did a pretty good job of keeping them uncomfortable throughout.  Dallas ended up shooting just 7 for 33 from distance and just 41% overall from the field, while the Kings shot 52.4% and also made a season-high 19 threes on 43 attempts.  The only reason the game was as close as it was through three quarters was that Dallas was getting to the line at a way higher rate than the Kings (35 attempts to just 15 for Sacramento), but I’d rather see the Kings continue to be physical than remain the turnstiles that they have been.

The Kings did a particularly good job of making life tough on Dallas’ star Cooper Flagg.  Flagg saw multiple types of coverage all night and routinely had a hand in his face.  He scored just 17 points, but did it on 3 of 19 from the field.  He was 11 of 11 from the line, but the Kings made sure he felt them every time he drove.  Sacramento also forced Flagg into 6 turnovers.

The Kings held a slim lead going into the half, but managed to gain some separation in the 3rd and 4th quarters.  Darius Acuff had a slower start than normal, taking just two shots in the first quarter and seemingly making it a point to defer to his teammates, but in the second half he started to look more comfortable and aggressive.  Acuff finished with just 6 assists on the night, but the amount of times he found a Kings player for an open look and they missed might have been twice that.  Precious Achiuwa even missed what should have been an easy dunk.  Fortunately one player he found that wasn’t missing was Leaky Black, who came off the bench and shot 4 for 6 from three, as well as providing some excellent defensive energy and hustle.  Rookie Emanuel Sharp was also excellent in that regard, and he also finally had a good shooting game, making all three of his long distance attempts, including a pull up on a fastbreak.  Sharp did end up with 5 fouls in just under 20 minutes, but that physicality was a welcome sight after six straight games of seeing teams face almost no resistance.

Malik Monk has looked like a completely different player for the first six games of this season, but tonight he finally got comfortable and played like the Malik of old.  He was lethal offensively, making 5 of 8 threes and 9 of 14 shots overall, while also leading the team in assists with 7.  This is hopefully the kind of performance that shakes Malik out of whatever malaise he’d been under, because it’s exactly what this team needed.  Malik earned every bit of his game-high +27 tonight.

But it was the rookie, Darius Acuff Jr. that ended up delivering the finishing touches on this win.  With the Kings up by 7 with about 6 minutes to go, Acuff scored 9 of the Kings next 12 points to extend Sacramento’s lead to 15.  After that the Mavericks started sending doubles out at him to try to force anyone else to beat them, which Zach LaVine happily obliged by making two consecutive three pointers.  Acuff ended up scoring 19 of his 25 points in the second half to help the Kings close out their first win.

It wasn’t a perfect game for the Kings, but after six games of losing with no end in sight, it was nice to get a quality wall to wall win, and it was a nice way to cap off the road trip before heading home for a long homestand.  If the team can manage to give this type of effort on a nightly basis, I think fans would be happy, win or lose.  But tonight was definitely a win, so let’s light the Beam while we can!

Random Observations:

• Zach LaVine did score 23 points on a very efficient 8-14 from the field and 5-9 from three but I can’t tell you how much I’m counting the days till he’s no longer on this team.  I’d much rather his minutes go to someone like Emanuel Sharp.  Still, a solid game from him.
• Nique Clifford was the first off the bench after Precious Achiuwa got into early foul trouble but ended up playing just 3:29.  He’s gotten a bit squeezed out of the rotation, and it doesn’t help that he doesn’t manage to stand out when he does get an opportunity.  Tonight he got an open look from three and airballed it badly.
• Domantas Sabonis was outplayed tonight by Daniel Gafford. A rare single-single night from Domas with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
• De’Andre Hunter turned back into a pumpkin.  After a few good games in a row, Hunter went back to looking terrible, shooting just 3-13 from the field and 0-6 from the three-point line.  He missed some incredibly easy shots right at the rim as well. After one missed layup, Doug Christie was even seen on the sideline telling him to just dunk it.
• I can see now why the Kings had interest in Walter Clayton Jr, and I fully agree with that interest.  Clayton scored a team-high 20 points for the Mavericks off the bench, including 4-5 from distance.