Dallas Mavericks limping, Sacramento Kings surging into play-in matchup

SACRAMENTO – The Dallas Mavericks reached the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals last season, when Luka Doncic carried an otherwise average team through the treacherous Western Conference waters.

This season, the Mavs traded the generational star to the Los Angeles Lakers and the franchise sank for most of the second half of the season, before landing the final play-in spot in the West.

Tenth seed Dallas (39-43) now look to take advantage of the life raft when they visit the ninth-seeded Sacramento Kings in a do-or-die contest on April 16 (April 17, Singapore time).

The season is over for the loser. The winner will advance to play
the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies for a berth in the play-offs.

The seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors defeated the Grizzlies 121-116 on April 15, led by Jimmy Butler’s 38 points and 37 from Stephen Curry.

“We’re two wins away from getting to the next step of our journey,” Sacramento interim coach Doug Christie said.

The Kings (40-42) swept the three-game series from Dallas in the regular season, winning by 10, one and 24 points. Only the first match was in the rabid atmosphere of Sacramento.

“That place is really hard to win in a play-off atmosphere, so we’re looking forward to that challenge,” Dallas guard Max Christie said.

“I think if we can get past that game, then that’ll help us hopefully get into the play-offs.”

The 122-98 loss to the Kings on March 3 was extra painful for the Mavericks. That was the night standout guard Kyrie Irving suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee.

Irving’s injury came during a stretch where Dallas lost nine of 10 games. Then, despite losing four of their final five regular-season games, the Mavericks gained the last play-in spot as the Phoenix Suns collapsed down the stretch.

Dallas acquired All-Star Anthony Davis in the Doncic deal, but he has played in just nine games due to injuries, and he is listed as probable due to a left adductor strain. A threadbare roster remained and made it beyond challenging for the team to win games.

“It’s just a series of obstacles and adversities that we dealt with throughout the season,” Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford said.

“There’s a lot of mental frustrations, a lot of emotions with a lot of stuff that went on throughout the team injury-wise, and I feel like the way we handled it is the way any other team would have. Just come out, keep doing the same thing that we do on a day-to-day basis.”

Dallas veteran Klay Thompson was on the Golden State team that lost to the Kings last season in the play-in round and he does not need to be reminded what his stat line looked like. He missed all 10 shots and went scoreless in 32 minutes of the 118-94 loss in what was his final game with the Warriors.

But he said his approach will not change.

“Like I would approach any other post-season game – give it your undivided attention and ultimate effort and live with the results,” Thompson said.

Sacramento had their own upheaval as Mike Brown was fired as coach 31 games into the season. Later, star point guard De’Aaron Fox was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal.

But they do have a potent threesome in star big man Domantas Sabonis, forward DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. Plus, the Kings won four of their past six games.

“I feel like we are playing our best basketball over the past six or seven games,” Sabonis said.

“We have to use that momentum into the play-in.”

In the other play-in game on April 15, Cole Anthony scored 13 of his 26 points in a fourth-quarter surge, allowing the Orlando Magic to claim a play-off berth via a 120-95 romp over the Atlanta Hawks in the East. REUTERS