by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento won the game because they played with intensity

Nothing may illustrate that point more than the sequence that took place with 34.1-seconds left to play in the game and the Kings leading 89-86. Zach Randolph missed a 16-foot fadeaway jump shot. Buddy Hield made a hustle rebound under the basket to keep the possession alive for Sacramento. George Hill ultimately hit a 17-foot jumper that for all intensive purposes sealed the win for the Kings.

This was a game of runs

In the second quarter, the Mavs went on a 12-0 run to go up 38-26 and it looked like Kings were going to be in real trouble on the road before halftime. The Kings woke up and went on to outscore the Mavericks 20-8 in the final 5:22 of the period. George Hill was the leader with help from Z-Bo, Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield.

Sacramento came back to floor ready to go after halftime. They won the 3rd quarter by posting 25 points to just 14 for Dallas. Buddy Hield led the scoring barrage with eight points while Hill added seven points and Randolph put up six. The Kings went into the 4th quarter with a 71-60 lead.

Another run started immediately at the beginning of the final quarter. Unfortunately for the Kings, it was the Mavericks who went on an 11-0 run to take a 72-71 lead with 9:38 to go in the game. Dirk Nowitzki — yes the old guy — and J.J. Barea were the players who fueled the run for Dallas.

The Kings retook the lead when Skal Labissiere hit a 19-foot jumper (assist Fox) at 8:46 to make it a 73-72 game. The Kings would never relinquish the lead again in the contest. They did not have an easy time in those final minutes but they played them with a lead.

Top Performers

Sacramento

• George Hill was the man again on Saturday night with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line.
• Zach Randolph got the start at center in Dallas after having to miss the home opener due to oral surgery. Z-Bo showed off his toughness on both ends of the court as he scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Three of those rebounds came on offense — think second chance point opportunities.
• Buddy Hield recorded 13 points and 6 rebounds but it was that one offensive rebound with under a minute to go in the game that was really clutch. He did not have a great shooting night going 4-for-11 from the floor (1-for-6 for 3’s). Hield was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also dished out 3 assists.
• Willie Cauley-Stein or maybe we should call him “Mr. Double-Double”. He scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double game.
• “The Fox” was hot again on Friday night. How about 10 assists in the game coming off the bench? He scored 9 points, had 6 rebounds and 1 steal in 26-minutes on the floor.
• Other contributors: Labissiere 8 points + 5 rebounds, Temple 8 points + 6 rebounds,  Vince Carter 6 points, Koufos 3 points + 5 rebounds and Justin Jackson 2 points + 4 rebounds.

Dallas

• Top scorer for his team and the game — Harrison Barnes 24 points on 8-for-18 shooting.
• Yogi Ferrell hit some key baskets to keep his team in the contest and finished with 14 points.
• Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points coming off the bench and was a big factor late in the game.
• J.J. Barea — who started at point guard because Dennis Smith, Jr. was held out due to swelling in a knee — scored 9 points and distributed 10 assists.
• Dirk Nowitzki — first vice president of AARP — played 29-minutes scoring 10 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. He really is my hero.

Team Stats

Kings

• SAC shot 42.5-percent from the field (37-for-87)
• They hit 10-of-23 from 3-point range. That is 43.5-percent shooting. Joerger has to pleased with that.
• The Kings made 9-of-13 free throw attempts. They had only 10 attempts versus Houston. The 13 on Friday was an improvement but that total needs to get up into the 20s.
• Kings out-rebounded the Mavs 57-36. More importantly, they owned the offensive glass 16-7.
• The team had 20 assists and 14 turnovers giving up 14 points off those TOVs.
• Second Chance Points Kings 14 vs Mavericks 6

Dallas

• The Mavericks shot 41.3-percent from the field (31-for-75)
• They were 11-for-33 (33.3-percent) from beyond the arc
• Dallas went to the FT line 21 times and converted 15 of those attempts
• The Mavs posted 19 assists while turning the ball over 12 times (6 points for Kings)

Both teams play Saturday night on the road

Sacramento

The Kings (1-1) head north and will play at a “Mile High” in Denver when they will face the 0-1 Nuggets. This will be the first road back-to-back set for the Kings rookies. Denver is 0-1 this season. Game time is 6 p.m. PDT.

Dallas

The 0-2 Mavericks will head south to face the 2-0 Houston Rockets in their home opener. They will not have to see Chris Paul who will be out 2-4 weeks due to his knee injury.