The Dallas Mavericks Kyrie Irving in the air (left) can watch the Sacramento Kings DeAaron Fox (5) right gets some hang time after throwing down at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Sat Feb 11, 2023 (@SacramentoKings photo)

Kings Best Dallas In Overtime 133-128

By Barbara Mason

After losing to the Dallas Mavericks (31-27) Friday night 122-114, the Sacramento Kings (32-24) played the Mavericks Saturday night in a back-to-back and ended up with a split taking game two 133-128.

Last night the Kings had a forgettable first quarter losing it 45-25 which made all the difference in the game. The Kings won the remaining quarters but it was the first quarter that set them behind the eight ball for the remainder of the game.

The Kings were determined to play an improved first quarter in tonight’s game but they would face another challenge with the return of Luca Doncic.

The first quarter was indeed improved for Sacramento winning it 34-32. They did not win the second quarter but it was another close one with Dallas winning it 32-28 and leading at the half 64-62.

It was a toss-up at the end of the third quarter with the two teams deadlocked at 24 and the Mavericks hanging onto a 88-86 lead. It was anybody’s game going into the fourth quarter.

With 52.3 left on the clock this game was tied at 112. As the clock expired at the end of the fourth quarter the score remained knotted at 114 apiece. De’Aaron Fox took the final shot in regulation, a three-point jumper that missed.

Overtime was a dog fight as the two teams fought for the lead . The Kings took a 123-119 lead with two minutes left in overtime. The Kings had a 127-123 lead with less than a minute left in the game.

The Mavericks Kyrie Irving hit a 26-foot three pointer and with18.4 left on the clock the Kings had a 127-126 lead. De’Aaron Fox hit a couple of free throws to extend the Kings lead to 129-126. In the end it was Doncic who missed a game tying shot. It was a wild and crazy game that brought out the best of both teams.

Again it was Fox at the line winning the game for Sacramento finishing with 36 points. Fox hit two shots at the line with 18.4 left. Domantas Sabonis had 14 rebounds, every one of them critical, and 22 points. Terence Davis had 22 points off the bench and Trey Lyles had 14. This was a great team effort after the disappointing game last night. Sacramento more than made up for it.

The Kings defense had their hands full with Doncic (27 points),Irving (28 points) and Josh Green (23 points). They handled Dallas in a great defensive and offensive effort.

The Kings will next take on the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night leading up to the All-Star game. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.