The Sacramento Kings will host the first of their back-to-back contests vs. the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. Coming off of Tuesday’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, Sacramento will look to capitalize on the momentum they built with the rotations, as well as a thinned Dallas roster.

Dallas joins Sacramento as one of the large number of teams in the league that have been dismantled by health and safety Protocols, as they’ll be missing seven players, including All-NBA player Luka Doncic. The last time Sacramento matched up against Doncic, he poured in 23 points and a game-sealing dagger from beyond the arc, adding salt to the wound of many in the Kingdom.

With the Mavericks missing their superstar, Sacramento will have an opportunity to play offensively at a high level while protecting the paint from Kristaps Porzingis. The Lativan center has been a polarizing character in a Mavs uniform, with rumors of chemistry issues with Doncic last season and a failure to produce at the high level he was able to with the New York Knicks. Points in the paint will be Sacramento’s point of contention with KP, has Richaun Holmes will likely have a long night on his defensive assignment.

The Mavericks also announced Wednesday morning the signing of former King Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day deal, who recently spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers on a hardship contract with identical terms. It’s not hard to imagine that the former fan favorite and league darling will receive more cheers than any play in a Kings uniform tonight.

Sacramento will find its greatest success when they consistently win the third quarter. Since the Kings play the Mavs back-to-back, this will be a series-like opportunity for Sacramento to make adjustments both in real time, following the first two quarters and over the course of the week.

How to Watch/Listen: NBC Sports California, Sports 1140 KHTK

Opposing Perspective: Mavs Moneyball

Spread: Mavericks -2.5

Moneyline: Kings +125, Mavericks -145

SAC injuries/absences: Davion Mitchell – Questionable (Health and Safety Protocols), Neemias Queta – Out (Health and Safety Protocols).

DAL injuries/absences: Luka Doncic – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), Tim Hardaway Jr. – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), Trey Burke – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), Maxi Kleber – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), JaQuori McLaughlin – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), Boban Marjanovic – Out (Health and Safety Protocols), Brandon Knight – Out ( Health and Safety Protocols), Willie Cauley-Stein – Out (Personal)