NBA 2018-19: 3 Takeaways from the Sacramento Kings' win over the Dallas Mavericks
Final Score: Sacramento Kings beat Dallas Mavericks 120-113
Stats:
Mavericks - 53 rebounds, 22 assists, 5 blocks and 6 steals
Kings - 47 rebounds, 20 assists, 7 blocks and 6 steals
The Sacramento Kings ended the Dallas Mavericks' excellent home court winning streak with a seven point victory at the American Airlines Centre, spoiling Dirk Nowitzki's return home for this season.
Guards Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox scored 28 apiece as they led the way with Dallas rookie Luka Doncic in the scorers' column at the other end. The Mavericks had an 11-game winning streak at home, tied with the best home record in the NBA, but that was ended in fine fashion by the Kings.
Coming off a tough loss to the Golden State Warriors, where they gave up a 10-point lead in only the last three minutes of the game, the Kings held onto their lead for the entire second half yesterday to keep the Mavericks at bay.
Here are the three main talking points from the game in Dallas.
#1 Dirk Nowitzki return spoiled
The 40-year-old Power Forward for the Dallas Mavericks made history just a few nights prior as he became the only man to play 21 NBA seasons for the same franchise. On the court for only a few minutes, Nowitzki passed Kobe Bryant to claim the record.
After missing the first 26 games of the season while recovering from a pre-season ankle surgery, the veteran took the floor at the American Airlines Centre once again late in the first quarter, scoring three points in eight minutes.
Nowitzki entered the game to what can be assumed one of many standing ovations to come from this season, as it is believed this will be his last in the NBA, and in a Dallas uniform. But the future Hall Of Famer returning home just wasn't enough as Dallas failed to find it in them to secure the victory.
The Kings were intent on spoiling Dirk's party, and that's exactly what they did.