Good News and Bad News: Mavs GAMEDAY vs. Kings
The Dallas Mavericks are STILL looking for their first win in the NBA restart in a Tuesday afternoon matchup with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings also want their first win of the resumed season. Do you want the Dallas good news or bad news first?
BAD NEWS: Winless Dallas is 0-2 in Orlando. The Mavs’ offense sputtered in the final minutes of an overtime loss in a shootout with the Houston Rockets and then the Mavs threw away a 15-point lead in a tough 117-115 loss to the Suns.
The Mavs lead the NBA with 18 losses by five or fewer points. Dallas is 2-10 in games where the final score is decided by three points or less.
GOOD NEWS: Clinched Despite the losses, the Mavericks have clinched a playoff berth for the 22nd time in their 40-year history (due to a Memphis Grizzlies loss). It is Dallas' 16th playoff appearance in the last 20 years and its first since 2016. For a young team looking to grow, the playoff experience will be invaluable.
BAD NEWS: The Clippers Likely Loom The two bubble losses really hurt Dallas’ chances at moving up for playoff seeding and avoiding the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. Dallas holds onto seventh in the Western Conference, 2.5 games back for sixth place. The Clippers are all but locked in at second place, which means … TOUGH series.
RELATED: Brace Yourself For Mavs vs. Clippers in Round 1
GOOD NEWS: Outstanding offense Dallas owns the highly-rated offense in NBA history with an offensive rating of 115.9.
And Luka Doncic’s domination continues. Against the Suns, Doncic scored 40 points, extending his streak of 20+ points to 21 straight games, surpassing his previous career-long of 20 consecutive games with 20+ points.
THE MATCHUP Dallas holds a 2-1 lead over Sacramento in the regular-season series. Doncic has dazzled vs. the Kings this season, posting 28.3 points per game with 11.3 rebounds per game and 11 assists per game in the three meetings. The Mavs will need to find a way to slow De'Aaron Fox, who is averaging 20.7 points and 6.7 assists for the Kings.
We'll also see old pal Harrison Barnes in a Sacto uniform. The Kings will again be missing the injured Marvin Bagley.
RELATED: Seth Curry 'Doubtful' for Mavs Vs. Kings
QUOTABLE “Obviously, our goal was to make the playoffs and we achieved that,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “We’re going to try to win every game we have left in the regular season. And then we’ll see where we end up.
“This is not a sprint. This is a marathon. These kind of games, we have to use them as fuel for us to keep working and keep getting better. . This is part of the process. We’re going to get through this and get better and won’t let these things happen again.”
Game Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
Location: Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Southwest/ESPN, ESPN 103.3 FM, Univision 1270 AM
Records: Mavericks (40-29, 7th in the West), Kings (28-33, 12th in the West)
