Mavs-Kings preview: ‘Very big games’ will impact playoff fortunes

SACRAMENTO – With a nod to the great Magic Johnson, the Mavericks have officially arrived at “Winnin’ time” for this season.

They are riding high with eight wins in their last nine games. The Sacramento Kings have won four of five.

It’s a grand stage for two games between two teams who are both desperately seeking to hold onto the highest playoff seed they can.

The Mavericks and Kings play Tuesday night. Both are coming off back-to-back games. The Mavericks had to travel from Salt Lake City, but the adrenaline for these upcoming games would seem to trump any fatigue concerns.

“Very big games,” said Luka Dončić after the Mavericks dispatched the Utah Jazz 115-105 Monday night. “It’s tough to play Sacramento. The crowd’s going, they got a lot of great players. It’s going to be a tough two games for sure. We got to stay together for 48 minutes and be physical.”

The Mavericks already have lost twice to the Kings this season, both times at American Airlines Center.

That means the Mavericks can’t win any tiebreaker with the Kings unless they sweep these games on Tuesday and Friday.

“It’s a game in front of us,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We talked about starting off the trip. This was step one, game one. You could say we maybe passed.

“Now it’s both teams coming off of back-to-back. Sacramento is one of the best teams in the league, tough place to play. So this is a great test for us. We’ll look at what we need to clean up going forward and then we’ll get ready for Sacramento.”

The Mavericks won’t need any locker room pep talks for this one. Everybody already knows that the games against Sacramento could make the difference in playoff seedings when Game 82 is done.

“I don’t hear too much conversation about it, but you know the atmosphere, the vibe within the team, we know for a fact that this trip is important,” said Daniel Gafford. “It’s more the demeanor. We know we have to fight a war, night-in and night-out. It’s not going to be easy for us. We got a big one tomorrow. We play those guys two times in the next four days. We just have to stay locked in and stay together.”

As Luka added: “We talk about it. But we can’t look forward in the future. We got to go game by game. If you look into the future, you’re not going to focus on the game in front (of you).”

Here’s what else to look for as the Mavericks open the two-game series with the Kings.

• Sacramento is coming off a 108-96 home win against Philadelphia on Monday night. They got a triple-double from Domantas Sabonis (11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists). They also had 23 points each from Keegan Murray and De’Aaron Fox.
• The Kings have been hard to catch for the Mavericks – and everybody else. Not only have they won four of their last five, but also six of eight and eight of 11.
• The Kings have a stiff remaining schedule with eight of their 11 opponents sporting winning records. They also have a four-game trip that hits Boston, New York and Oklahoma City, as well as Brooklyn.
• The Mavericks have been sizzling and they’ve done it with defense. They held Utah to 64 points in the final three quarters on Monday (after surrendering 41 in the first quarter). The Jazz shot just 37.8 percent in the second half, 31.2 percent from three-point land (5-of-16).
• Luka Dončić had another triple-double on Monday, which is becoming routine for him. The games Tuesday and Friday will feature him and Sabonis, two of the most consistent triple-double threats in the league, along with Denver’s Nikola Jokic.

MAVERICKS (42-29) at SACRAMENTO KINGS (42-29)

• When/where: 9 p.m., Golden One Center, Sacramento.
• TV: TNT.
• Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).

X: @ESefko