3 overreactions as Mavericks embarrassingly lose to Sacramento Kings

The Dallas Mavericks took on the West's worst on Saturday afternoon, as they played the Sacramento Kings on the road. With the news of Anthony Davis suffering his latest injury, it was interesting to see how they'd respond, with Cooper Flagg obviously being the first option.

Sacramento jumped on top of the Mavs from the beginning, putting Dallas down by 11 just 6:25 into the game. Keon Ellis was the one initially killing the Mavericks, as he had 11 of their first 17 points, and it wasn't long before the Kings pushed the first-quarter lead to 17, put a quick 9-0 run by the Mavs had the lead down to eight by the end of the break.

We had a Doug McDermott sighting in the second quarter, as he hit two threes in the opening minutes, and that helped build the lead back up to 16. They'd eventually build the lead to 18 as Russell Westbrook started to heat up, and they'd enter halftime up 59-44.

The third quarter was all Dallas... mostly. Cooper Flagg finally woke up, scoring 15 points in the quarter on 5/6 shooting, including 3/3 from behind the arc, which brought the Mavericks within three with 6:06 left in the quarter. However, the Mavericks would be outscored 17-2 over the next four-plus minutes, and that felt like it would end any chance of the Mavs winning this game, even as Jaden Hardy had five quick points as the Mavs made it an 11-point game by the end of the quarter.

Sacramento built the lead back up to 16 before back-to-back threes from Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell had the lead down to 10. And no matter what the Mavericks did after that, it never felt like they could cross that 10-point threshold. Down 11 with under five minutes remaining, Naji Marshall drove and fell hard, but no foul was called. Dwight Powell went 0/2 at the line soon after that.

Finally, P.J. Washington cleaned up his own missed three to finish a layup that had the lead down to 9, but DeMar DeRozan hit a shot from the elbow and was fouled while doing so, and that immediately pushed it back to 12.

Washington responded with a thunderous dunk, then Klay Thompson hit a three to make it a 7-point game. Another stop led to a Cooper Flagg bucket, and the lead was five. P.J. Washington was called for an offensive foul a few sequences later, and Max Christie missed a drive to the basket, but the ball went out on the Kings, and Dwight Powell was fouled on the inbounds. He'd make 1 of 2, making it a 4-point game with 11 seconds left.

DeMar DeRozan would ice the game with two free throws, and the Mavericks would fall to the Sacramento Kings 113-107, who were missing Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, and Keegan Murray.

Here are three overreactions to this loss.

1. Do P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg Fit Together?

Oct 6, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) and forward P.J. Washington (25) celebrate a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Dickie's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There has been some chatter this week about whether P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg can thrive playing together. Jason Kidd pushed Naji Marshall to the bench with Anthony Davis and Brandon Williams out, which was dumb considering how well Marshall had been playing, so we saw more opportunity for Washington and Flagg together.

Flagg still didn't get involved in the action until the third quarter, and while Washington and Flagg were both fine in the game, it is a fair thing to consider. Washington can't be traded until after the season, so we'll have more time to explore this.

2. Way Too Many Turnovers

Dec 22, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Mavericks ended up turning it over 19 times in this game, which led to 28 Sacramento points. That isn't going to win many ball games, and it's why this team needs Kyrie Irving back as soon as possible.

3. When Russell Westbrook Is Making Five Threes...

Dec 23, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Russell Westbrook (18) looks on during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Russell Westbrook is having the greatest three-point shooting season of his career, entering this game making 35% of his threes. But allowing him to go 5/10 from three is absolutely ridiculous. It's one thing to live with him making a couple, but the scouting report had to change when he makes the third, and then a fourth, you can't allow him to make a fifth.

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