Mavs’ huge first quarter acts as difference in win over Kings Friday

Feb 10, 2023, 11:03 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2023, 8:35 am

Kyrie Irving #2 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots over Kevin Huerter #9 of the Sacramento Kings and ge...

(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

If you take away the first quarter of Friday night’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, the beam would be lighting up the night sky right now.

Instead, the Mavericks used a 45-point first quarter to put the Kings in a 20-point hole early–an insurmountable deficit as Dallas secured a 122-114 win at Golden 1 Center.

The loss is costly for Sacramento (31-24), as Dallas pulled to within one game of the Kings in the Western Conference standings with a rematch set to take place between the two teams in less than 24 hours.

De'Aaron showing off the speed and athleticism 😮 pic.twitter.com/gqlMjU20C5

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 11, 2023

It didn’t take long for the Sacramento defense to dig itself into a deep hole on Friday, as the Kings surrendered 45 points–the most that Dallas has scored in a first quarter this season–during the first 12 minutes of play.

The Mavericks caught fire from the field during the first, as Christian Wood’s 13 points off the bench acted as the driving force behind a 64 percent shooting performance from the field and 53 percent from deep to put a 20-point difference between themselves and a Kings team that looked utterly defeated.

Sacramento entered the break trailing 74-56 after allowing Dallas to shoot 12-of-25 (48%) from beyond the arc. Second-chance points also came back to bite the Kings early, as the Mavs benefited from eight offensive rebounds during the first half.

As things the second half unfolded, two things became clear:

Sacramento figured out their defensive struggles
It was too late to dig out of the hole that they dug themselves into during the first quarter

The Kings battled back to trim the deficit to seven points with five minutes to go after holding the Mavericks to nine points during the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, but missed free throws and sloppy turnovers kept the game out of reach for Sacramento.

You can lose a game in one quarter, and that’s precisely what happened on Friday night, with the first 12 minutes of play looming large in a game that was nearly there for the taking late.

“Dallas came out and hit us in the mouth to begin the game,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said postgame. “45 points in the first quarter, that’s hard to recover from… That first quarter was where the ballgame was won.”

Dallas’ 45-point first quarter was the difference in this one, as the Kings outscored the Mavericks in the second, third, and fourth quarters. Defense was an issue early, but Sacramento was able to hold the Mavericks to four-of-16 (25%) shooting during the final period.

“I think we were better for a lot of the game, De’Aaron Fox said of his team’s rough start on Friday. “We had one quarter that was atrocious. We have to be better at the start of the game. In the first quarter, they didn’t feel us at all, but the rest of the game they did, especially the fourth quarter. We need to carry over what we did in the final three quarters and take that into tomorrow.”

The Kings will need to hope they can lock in defensively from the tip on Saturday night when they face Luka Dončić, who will reportedly return to action following a four-game absence due to a heel injury.

Sacramento has responded each time that they have faced adversity this season. A win against Dallas to finish this back-to-back would speak volumes to the validity of that tendency.

De'Aaron had G1C hyped with this finish 🔥🔊 pic.twitter.com/uyuiGz0bpU

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 11, 2023

Rounding Out The Box Score

Even another massive closing effort from De’Aaron Fox–Mr. Fourth Quarter himself–wouldn’t be enough as the rest of the Kings’ offense struggled to convert looks during the final minutes of the game.

Fox scored 15 of his 33 points during the fourth quarter as the first-time All-Star finished the night 10-of-16 from the field with seven rebounds and five assists over 39 minutes.

Domantas Sabonis posted his NBA-leading 43rd double-double of the season during the loss as the big man scored 18 points, grabbed 11 boards, and handed out seven assists before fouling out late in the fourth.

Keegan Murray knocked down four three-pointers on Friday night as the rookie finished the game with 16 points on four-of-five shooting from beyond the arc.

Kevin Huerter continued to struggle from three-point land during the loss, missing all three of his attempts from downtown. Huerter is shooting nine-for-45 (20%) from deep over the past eight games.

Notes

Dallas controlled the boards on Friday–especially the offensive glass (11 offensive rebounds, 18 second chance points). Kyrie Irving pulled down three offensive rebounds against Sacramento’s five as a team.
The Mavericks finished the night 18-of-43 (42%) from three-point land. Dallas is 15-5 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from beyond the arc.
Sacramento was 27-for-32 (84%) from the free-throw line on Friday, but went eight-for-12 (66%) during the fourth quarter.
Dallas forward Christian Wood scored 13 points (5/6 FG) during the first quarter. Wood was held scoreless on 0/6 shooting for the remainder of the game.

Injury Update

Malik Monk left the game with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter after coming down awkwardly after converting a layup. The 24-year-old did not return, as the Kings disclosed that Monk suffered an ankle injury.

Monk will undergo testing and is considered day-to-day.

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Next Game

Same time, same place tomorrow?

Sacramento and Dallas will play the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday night as these two teams will run things back–except this time, superstar Luka Dončić could be suiting up for his return to action.

Be sure to get all of your Kings vs. Mavericks coverage on Sactown Sports 1140 starting at 5:30 pm PST on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 pm PST from downtown Sacramento.