‘No Nerves’: Luka-Less Mavs Rally Past Kings Behind Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith

Mavericks were without superstar Luka Doncic against Sacramento, but Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith came up big in comeback win

Dalton Trigg | Mar 5, 2022

The red-hot Dallas Mavericks learned early Saturday that superstar Luka Doncic was out for matinee affair with the struggling Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center.

USATSI_17835382 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Dinwiddie drives on Domantas Sabonis.

USATSI_17836256 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic chats it up with Boban Marjanovic on his night off.

USATSI_17836252 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Davis Bertans and Reggie Bullock attempt to keep Sabonis off the boards.

Doncic's absence was felt throughout the game, but an dramatic corner 3-pointer from Dorian Finney-Smith with just three seconds left lifted the the Mavericks (39-25) past the Kings 114-113.

Spencer Dinwiddie also stepped up big in his first game as a starter for the Mavs, finishing with 36 points and seven assists while shooting 11-22 from the field and 12-13 from the free-throw line. Dinwiddie has only played in seven games for Dallas, but he's already become a fan favorite and shown he can be counted on in crucial situations.

USATSI_17836083 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dinwiddie slides by the Kings defense for a layup.

USATSI_17836251 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Dinwiddie and Justin Holiday fight for the basketball.

USATSI_17836253 — © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Sabonis slams it home for the Kings.

“No nerves. I’ve been playing basketball in this league for a long time,” said Dinwiddie after helping ignite yet another comeback win. “I definitely want to be a continued service to my team and help us win games.

“I do what I do, and I don’t do what I’m not supposed to do. That goes 1-through-15. Everybody here [with the Mavs] follows that type of mentality because we understand that to not just win basketball games in the regular season, but in the playoffs, you need that.”

Jalen Brunson pitched in with 23 points and dished out six assists, with the biggest being on Finney-Smith's game-winner. Brunson shot 8-15 from the field and converted 2-3 from deep. Finney-Smith finished with 23 points, Josh Green scored 12 and Reggie Bullock had 11 points.

De'Aaron Fox gave the Mavs all they could handle with 44 points on 18-31 from the field. Domantas Sabonis was also solid for Sacramento, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The Kings dropped to 24-42.

The Mavs were down 65-51 at halftime, but began to chip away in the third quarter. Dallas finished the game with an 11-3 run over the final three minutes to avoid the upset.

On Monday, the Mavs take on the Utah Jazz for the second time in a little more than a week. Sitting just 1.5 games back of Utah in the Western Conference, Dallas needs a win to keep the Jazz from winning the regular season series. The Mavs have to win the final two games with Utah to forge a 2-2 tie, with the teams meeting again March 27.

Published Mar 5, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.