SACRAMENTO – If this is how the Mavericks respond to higher-stakes competition, consider the rest of the NBA to be on notice.
With Luka Dončić shaking off a sore right Achilles and Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. coming alive after halftime, the Mavericks steamrolled the Sacramento Kings 132-96 in the first of two crucial meetings at Golden 1 Center.
Dončić was questionable leading up to the game with the Achilles issue, but there was nothing questionable about the way he played. His 26 first-half points set the tone for what would be an unexpected blowout against the team they entered the day tied with in the Western Conference standings.
The Mavericks’ superstar point guard was unstoppable, even for a Kings’ that has been trending upward the last month. Dončić finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists because he didn’t have to do much after halftime with Irving and Hardaway dominating.
Irving finished with 24 points, 18 after halftime and Hardaway had 15 of his 22 after the break.
And so, the Mavericks won for the ninth time in 10 games and improved to 43-29, moving a game ahead of the 42-30 Kings for sixth place in the Western Conference.
So, are they peaking at the right time?
“We don’t take for granted how well we’ve been playing,” Irving said. “But we’re not satisfied just because of where we are position-wise.”
The Mavericks were playing from in front most of the night against the Kings and they completely owned the third quarter. A 15-2 blitz put them up 82-63 and the lead would grow to 89-65. By the middle of the fourth quarter, it was 111-84.
The Kings shot just 14-of-43 in the second half. The Kings scored just 68 points in the final three quarters. This after Utah scored just 64 in the last three quarters on Monday.
“As much as coaches would like our defense to be perfect in training camp, it sometimes takes a little time,” coach Jason Kidd said. “But there’s no better time to play defense than in March when you’re playing for something. And our offense, we believe, is one of the best in the league.”
Going into the game, the Mavericks needed no reminders of the importance of this set of games. But neither did they come out of it feeling like they have sent any messages yet during this long run of success.
“We’re not sending any messages,” Kidd said. “We’re just trying to take what’s in front of us and just take the one possession at a time. We understand where we are at and how big this road trip is. And this is only game 2 of five.
“We got to play the Kings again (on Friday). It will be a different team on Friday. The beauty of that is we just went through that on Friday with Utah. And we’ll be fresh and ready to go.”
With Oklahoma City winning at New Orleans earlier Tuesday, the Mavericks now trail the Southwest Division-leading Pelicans by just one game in the loss column.
And it sets the Mavericks up with a chance to level the season series with the Kings at two wins apiece on Friday in the rematch at Golden 1 Center.
They’ll need a lot more of the same that they came up with on Tuesday as they pinched the Kings defensively, limiting them to 14-of-33 shooting (42.4 percent) from inside the three-point arc in the first half, after which the Mavericks were up 58-53.
By then, Dončić already had 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
And bear in mind, these are two of the best offensive teams in the league that now are two of the best on the defensive side, too.
At least since the All-Star break.
We know about the Mavericks’ uptick defensively. It pretty much coincided with the arrival of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington at the trade deadline. Since then, the Mavericks have been able to win with offense or rely on stopping teams.
The Kings, meanwhile, have done it simply by taking on coach Mike Brown’s persona.
“They got great hands. They come up with a lot of steals,” Kidd said. “They play the passing lanes and anticipate well. And they rebound well. If you’re not scoring on them, you have to take care of the ball.”
Brown said he saw things coming together earlier this season, and ever since the All-Star break, things have trended upward.
“We’ve won a handful of games based on our defense,” Brown said. “The one thing you have control over is: do you talk defensively or communicate. Do you give multiple efforts defensively. Are you bringing a level of physicality to the game to make it uncomfortable for the other team.
“If you do, it doesn’t guarantee a win, but you’re going to give yourself a good chance to win.”
All that defense was a bit hard to find on the Kings’ side on Tuesday when the Mavericks shot 55.4 percent, including 56.4 percent from three-point land.
P.J. Washington had four of those three-pointers on six tries to help get the contagious hot-shooting going.
“Confidence,” Washington said. “I’ve been in the gym everyday working on it. My confidence never wavers. So I keep taking open ones. They went in tonight. And we got a W.”
Briefly: The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis had a streak of 53 consecutive double-doubles coming into Tuesday’s game, the longest such streak since the NBA-ABA merger. “What Sabonis has done is remarkable with the double-doubles,” Kidd said. “You’re not going to slow him down rebounding the ball. He’s not flashy. He brings his hard hat and plays hard and puts his team in a position to win.” Sabonis extended his streak to 54 games with 12 points and 11 rebounds . . . After a busy few days, the Mavericks will get a well-deserved day of rest and recovery in Sacramento on Wednesday.
X: @ESefko
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