Sunday Scaries: Kings Suffer First Road Loss Of Season
Oct 31, 2021, 3:06 PM | Updated: 3:06 pm
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
The threes were not falling in Dallas on Sunday as the Kings fell short in Dallas
It was not a fun Halloween for the Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon in Dallas as Luka Donฤiฤ and the Mavericks handed the Kings their first road loss of the season.
After a 2-0 start to the four-game road trip, Sacramento was unable to get into a groove from the three-point line as the Mavs went on to win by a final of 105-99 at the American Airlines Center.
With the loss, the Kings (3-3) missed out on an opportunity to secure the franchise’s first 4-0 road start in the team’s history.
Sacramento looked sluggish in the first quarter, allowing Dallas to go on a 20-5 run to open things up early. The Kings bench limited the damage by cutting the deficit to 31-22 heading into the second period. The nine-point advantage was the first time this season (six games) that the Mavericks have ended the first quarter with a lead.
The Kings continued to chip into Dallas’ lead in the second, cutting the deficit to just one point before the Mavs ended the half with a 53-47 lead.
Buddy Hield (0-for-4) and the rest of the Kings offense struggled from three-point range in the first half, only converting two of their first 16 attempts from beyond the arc. Richaun Holmes (10 points) and Tristan Thompson (eight points) controlled the paint in the first half to keep the Kings close heading into the third quarter.
Sacramento took its first lead of the game after a Harrison Barnes jam made it 60-59 with 7:34 remaining in the third. That lead would be short-lived as Dallas ended the period on a 23-12 run–with most of the run taking place without Luka Donฤiฤ on the floor–to take a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Buddy Hield busted out of a cold start to cut the deficit to 91-83 with 6:38 remaining after drilling his second triple of the contest. Hield cut the Mavericks lead to just three points, but Luka Donฤiฤ took the wind right out of Sacramento’s sails with a jaw-dropping three of his own that was almost released from mid-court.
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s breakaway dunk to make it 100-91 with two minutes remaining would put the finishing touches on Sacramento’s first road loss of the season.
Failure to convert the long-ball would cost the Kings on Sunday as the offense finished the game seven-of-36 (19%) from three-point range. Sacramento had plenty of good looks, but nobody was able to find the bottom of the net as consistently as needed to keep the game within reach.
Dallas knocked down 12 of their 37 three-point attempts and that would prove to be the difference in this contest.
Rounding Out The Box Score
In true Halloween fashion, Luka Donฤiฤ haunted the Kings on Sunday by leading all scorers with 23 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out 10 assists in the win.
Richaun Holmes posted his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and pulling down 13 rebounds while shooting nine-of-15 from the field over 27 minutes. Harrison Barnes joined Holmes in the double-double department, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in the losing effort.
De’Aaron Fox’s lackluster start to the season continued in Dallas as the star guard went five-of-16 and scored just 14 points in the loss. Through six games this season, Fox is shooting just 37-percent from the field.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 14 points and finished with four assists, while Tristan Thompson added 13 points and five rebounds off of the bench. Buddy Hield scored 11 points on three-of-12 shooting from three-point range to go along with eight rebounds.
Coming Up
Sacramento will conclude its four-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon when they face a dangerous Utah Jazz team.
Just over a week ago on October 22nd, Utah defeated the Kings at Golden 1 Center after by a final of 110-101 after outscoring Sacramento 64-49 in the second half.
You can find all of your Kings vs Jazz coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, with pregame coverage beginning at 3:00pm PST on The Jason Ross Show prior to a 5:00pm PST tip-off from Salt Lake City.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule
- November 2nd @ Utah Jazz
- November 3rd vs New Orleans Pelicans
- November 5th vs Charlotte Hornets
- November 7th vs Indiana Pacers
- November 8th vs Phoenix Suns
