Field Level Media
Dec 16, 2018
The Sacramento Kings' young backcourt of Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox combined for 56 points in a 120-113 victory that snapped the Dallas Mavericks' home win streak at 11 on Sunday night.
Dallas, which entered the day tied for the league high with 13 home wins, could have tied the franchise record for longest home win streak. But the Mavs, playing without starting guard Dennis Smith Jr. and bench spark plug J.J. Barea, couldn't slow down the Kings' emerging dynamic duo.
Hield finished with a season-high-tying 28 points on 12-of-23 shooting, while Fox also poured in 28, hitting 11 of his 19 attempts. His pretty floater with 1:21 to go gave the Kings a 114-107 lead and all but sealed the victory.
Nemanja Bjelica, who scored 15 points, drained two of his four 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter that gave the Kings a 106-95 lead with 5:12 left, just enough cushion to thwart a Dallas charge late in the game.
The Kings, playing without injured rookie Marvin Bagley III, led by three points after one quarter and at halftime, and were up 82-79 with 3:16 to go in the third quarter after Dallas' Harrison Barnes hit a 3-pointer. Sacramento answered with an 11-4 run to end the third quarter for a 93-83 lead.
It was Dallas' first home loss since Nov. 2 against the New York Knicks, and it was the Mavs' second consecutive loss after falling at Phoenix on Thursday night. Rookie Luka Doncic led the Mavs with 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds. It was his second-highest scoring output of the season.
Wesley Matthews finished with 13 points but was just 4 of 13 from the floor. Barnes had 15 points, going 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. But Dallas as a whole went just 9 of 35 from 3-point land after going 5 of 33 in the loss at Phoenix. DeAndre Jordan finished with eight points and a game-high 23 rebounds.
Dirk Nowitzki made his home debut for this season, his record-breaking 21st with the Mavs. He played eight minutes and finished with three points. Dallas is 0-2 since Nowitzki's return.
Bogdan Bogdanovic added 15 points for the Kings, and Willie Cauley-Stein finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
--Field Level Media