DALLAS – That 11-game home winning streak the Dallas Mavericks had pieced together over the past five weeks is no more.
Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox tallied 28 points apiece and the Sacramento Kings came into American Airlines Center and upended the Mavs, 120-113, before a sellout crowd of 19,935. One of the surprise teams in the NBA this season, the Kings (16-13) dealt the Mavs their first loss at home since Nov. 2 when they lost to the New York Knicks.
And before anyone could claim that this loss came mainly because the Mavs were without injured guards Dennis Smith Jr. and J. J. Barea, coach Rick Carlisle quashed that notion.
“This isn’t about J.J. missing or Smith Jr. missing, (because) they had two guys out too – (Iman) Shumpert and (Marvin) Bagley (III),” Carlisle said. “We just didn’t play well enough.
“We were doing some good things early, had the tempo where we needed it. In the latter stages of the second quarter it got ratty, which is what they like. We could never get enough traction; we had a bad shooting night — that doesn’t help. On those nights your defense have to keep you, and we were unable to stay close enough and give ourselves a chance.”
The Mavs did chop a 12-point deficit down to five (112-107) with 1:46 remaining in the game after a three-point play by Luka Doncic and a 3-point shot from Wesley Matthews. However, Fox knifed inside the paint and scored, and Willie Cauley-Stein jammed home a dunk for a 116-107 Sacramento lead with only 52.6 seconds to go.
“It’s tough when you’re playing from behind,” guard Devin Harris said. “You’ve got to kind of sort of play perfect throughout.
“We got enough stops. We obviously didn’t shoot it well, especially in the second half, and we gave up a ton of points in transition.”
The loss dropped the Mavs to 15-13 on the season. More importantly, the Mavs started the day sitting in the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings, and they ended the day in the ninth spot.
Also, the Mavs are now on a two-game losing streak for the first time since they lost six consecutive games from Oct. 24-Nov. 2. Ironically, the two losses coincide with the return of superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who played eight minutes and 22 seconds in the first half against the Kings after playing six first-half minutes in last Thursday’s loss in Phoenix.
Nowitzki received a rousing standing ovation when he entered the game with 3:17 left in the first quarter. This marks the first time the 21-year veteran has played a game at AAC since last season.
“I thought my wind was a little better,” said Nowitzki, who was 1-of-4 from the field and finished with three points and four rebounds. “I’m plugging along, plugging along in the right direction.
“We played against a team that is very athletic, very fast. But we are 0-2 since I’ve been back. We lost two tough games, two games we feel like we should have had, so it’s frustrating.”
Doncic led the Mavs with 28 points, six rebounds and nine assists, Harrison Barnes scored 15 points, Matthews popped in 13 points, Jalen Brunson tallied 12, and DeAndre Jordan added eight points, three blocked shots and a season-high tying 23 rebounds.
Sacramento led 34-31 after the first quarter, but the Mavs built a 47-40 lead midway through the second quarter. However, the Kings came storming back and led 61-58 at the half and 93-83 after the third quarter.
“We had opportunities there, and the shots just didn’t fall,” Brunson said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They played a heckuva game.”
The loss was equally devastating to the Mavs because they’re about to embark on a very difficult four-game road trip which starts Tuesday in Denver.
“This is a learning experience for us,” Brunson said. “We’re going to learn from this.
“We’re going to watch film tomorrow and get better from it and move forward. You can’t get down on any game. You just got to find ways to make it help you.”
