SACRAMENTO – In the most important game of the 2023-24 NBA season so far, the Kings failed to recover from a 107-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Jason Kidd and the Mavericks were preparing a Kings team that was “different” than the one they faced 72 hours earlier, and they were able to do that on Friday, but the Kings' second-half collapse ultimately led to Dallas gained the upper hand.
Harrison Barnes was hot from the start, recording 20 points, six rebounds and one assist in 39 minutes.
De'Aaron Fox had a team-high 23 points and Domantas Sabonis had 26 points.th Achieved a triple double this season.
Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 56 points.
With a win, the Kings (42-31) would be tied with the Mavericks (44-29) for the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and secure a regular-season series tiebreaker with Dallas. Ta. Instead, the loss moves them up to eighth place.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings loss:
Another slow collapse
The Kings outscored the Mavericks in the first two quarters, evened the game in the third, but fell apart in the final quarter.
Sacramento only scored 21 points in the final frame, but Dallas' offense started flowing at just the right time, scoring 34 points in the fourth quarter to push the Mavericks over the goal line.
However, this finish line had implications for the playoffs, with both teams competing for the No. 6 seed.
Dante Exum hit a 23-foot 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter, turning what was once a 15-point lead into a tie-ball game.
About five minutes later, with 28.1 seconds left in the game, it was Exum again who knocked down the game-winning three to give the Mavericks a 106-103 lead. Doncic made yet another free throw, ultimately clinching the deal in Sacramento.
Keon, HB fuel hot start
By the first 12 minutes, the Kings had already scored more points in the quarter than in any quarter since Tuesday's loss to the Mavericks.
The Kings were 15-of-28 from the field (53.6 percent) and 4-of-9 from 3-point range (44.4 percent), giving up 34 points in the opening frame. Three days ago, their scores were 28, 25, 23, and 20, respectively.
Keon Ellis had 10 points and Harrison Barnes had seven points in Tuesday's contest. By Friday in the first quarter, both had 11 points each.
Ellis scored 16 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from deep. Barnes finished with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from downtown.
Kings coach Mike Brown didn't categorically blame fatigue for Tuesday's blowout loss, but it was obvious as the Kings' game was their fifth in seven days.
With two days of rest before the crucial rematch, the Kings emerged re-energized from the start.
It took the Mavericks a little longer to match that energy, but they eventually got going when it mattered.
Cognizable offense
Tuesday's loss was the ninth time the Kings have scored fewer than 100 points. Both of these games resulted in losses for Sacramento.
While Brown is pushing to rebuild the defense, it's the offense where this team will grow and shine.
And even though they are taking small but important steps towards becoming a better defensive team, Brown doesn't want them to lose their identity.
After scoring just 96 points on 38.9 percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent from deep on Tuesday, the Kings' offense looked more like its own on Friday.
It wasn't enough to get the job done, but it was refreshing to see that defensive urgency didn't completely take the team away from its bright spot.
