Short-Handed Mavericks Fall Apart in Second Half Against Kings, Drop 110-100

Dallas just didn't have enough options on offense to overcome their lengthy injury report

Dec 30, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie (26) drives against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (right) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks played the Sacramento Kings on the road on Monday night, but the Mavs were down four starters. Luka Doncic remains out with a calf strain, Dereck Lively II missed his third straight game with a hip contusion, Kyrie Irving sat with shoulder soreness, and Klay Thompson sat with an "illness." To pick up a win, even against a Kings squad that is reeling after firing their head coach on Friday, would be tough.

With four starters out, the Mavs rolled with Spencer Dinwiddie, Jaden Hardy, Quentin Grimes, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford as their starters. Sacramento starter De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis. This is the 15th different starting lineup this season for the Mavs in game 33.

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If the Mavericks were going to pull off this win, it would be a combination of elite defense and a few players having out-of-body experiences scoring-wise. So Dallas dared Sacramento to shoot from the outside, as their starting five entered Monday night shooting 28.7% from three-point range in their last five games, easily the worst mark in the league. That, and Spencer Dinwiddie scoring 11 of Dallas' first 19 points, got them out to a 19-15 lead early.

Sacramento had a few unbelievably lazy turnovers, and P.J. Washington had a few tough buckets, hitting his first three shots behind the arc to give him 11 points in the first 7+ minutes to give the Mavericks a 27-15 lead. Washington and Dinwiddie were out-scoring the Kings by themselves to this point. Washington's heater would not stop there, as he eventually scored 16 points in a row for the Mavs to give him 19 in the quarter, as they took an astounding 37-23 lead into the second quarter after leading by as much as 18.

The Kings scored seven of the first nine points of the quarter to get the lead back down into single digits, capped off by an and-one from Trey Lyles. The lead would then bounce between nine and 12 for the next few minutes before Dallas took a timeout up 44-35.

Sacramento continued to chip away at the lead, getting an and-one from DeRozan to cut the lead to four with about six minutes to go in the half. Then Malik Monk hit a three following a turnover to cut it to one. Domantas Sabonis would roll in a finger roll to take the lead, 45-44, to cap off a 15-2 run as Dallas' scoring dried up. But the Mavericks responded to that with an 8-0 run to re-take the lead, and they'd head into halftime up 60-56.

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Sacramento quickly tied the game at 60 in the first minute of the half, but Dallas responded with a 7-0 run to retake control. Fouls were becoming an issue for both sides as DeMar DeRozan, De'Aaron Fox, and Jaden Hardy all had four fouls, and Daniel Gafford and Domantas Sabonis had three midway through the first quarter. Dallas' ability to get to the free-throw line is a big reason they were able to keep their offense afloat without some of their usual shot-creators.

P.J. Washington scored his 28th points of the night to give him a season-high with a little over six minutes to go in the quarter and to give the Mavs a 9-point lead again, 73-64. Turnovers and defensive rebounding started to doom Dallas, and after a possession where the Kings got up five shots, they got the lead down to one, then took advantage of Gafford's fourth foul on a charge to re-take the lead, 76-75. A 20-footer by De'Aaron Fox closed off a 17-2 run, with Sacramento taking an 83-77 lead into the fourth quarter. The Mavs scored just 17 points in the third, shooting 6/17 from the floor.

That run continued into the fourth, as a Trey Lyles three extended the Sacramento lead to 10, 88-78. The run would briefly be ended by a deep Spencer Dinwiddie three, which De'Aaron Fox answered. Sacramento would eventually lead by as much as 14 to start the quarter.

Dallas got the lead down to nine with about three minutes to go, hoping to strike some doubt into a Sacramento team that has struggled in the clutch. But that would be as close as the game would get, and the Kings went on to win 110-100.

Spencer Dinwiddie led the Mavericks with a season-high 30 points, the most he's scored since the 2022-23 season. P.J. Washington wasn't far behind with 28 points. Those two shot 19/22 from the free-throw line, a big reason they were able to boost their numbers. Quentin Grimes, with 11 points, was the only other Maverick in double figures.

The Mavericks shot just 42.1% from the floor in this game, getting 24% of their points from the free-throw line. They also shot 24 fewer shots than the Kings, as Sacramento came down with 18 offensive rebounds to Dallas' two.

De'Aaron Fox led Sacramento with a massive 33 points to break their six-game losing streak. Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists, while DeMar DeRozan, Trey Lyles, and Malik Monk all had 14 points each.

The Mavericks will be on the road again on Wednesday for a big game against the Rockets.

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