Dallas Mavericks guard Brandon Williams provided late-game heroics for his squad as they downed the Sacramento Kings, 100-98, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
Williams scored 18 points off the bench on 7-of-13 from the field and made his only three-pointer in the game to give Dallas their lead with 33.9 seconds remaining.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Kings, who were led by DeMar DeRozan with 21 points. DeRozan missed a potential game-winning three-point attempt – a running, one-legged heave from 29 feet – as time expired.
‘I wish we could’ve got – to my point – just being more organized, understanding what we can get instead of trying to rely on a one-legged, 30-footer,’ DeRozan said to reporters after the game regarding the final shot.
Other contributors for the Kings were Zach LaVine with 20 points in 37 minutes in his second game back from injury. He was moved to a starter after coming off the bench against the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 4.
Kings rookie center Maxime Raynaud had 14 points and nine rebounds. He fouled out with 8.1 seconds left in the game.
Sacramento led 58-46 at the half but came out in the third quarter and allowed Dallas to go on an immediate 7-0 run.
By the end of the quarter, the Kings lead was only two and it became a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter.
‘Holding them to 100 points, defensively, is solid enough to win a game,’ Kings head coach Doug Christie said. ‘I have to figure out a way to help them offensively. The ball has to move. We came out in the third quarter and just it wasn’t it. We have to make sure that we’re finding the ability to move the ball and move bodies. That means the ball has to go from one side of the floor to the other.’
The Mavericks were led by their rookie Cooper Flagg with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. He also added eight rebounds and six assists.
Flagg had an injury scare after center Anthony Davis fell into his knee causing Flagg to go down with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter. He went to the locker room but came back to the bench and immediately reentered the ballgame.
Davis had a big double-double, 19 points and 16 rebounds, despite a 7-of-23 shooting performance.
Dallas is now 14-23 and 11th place in the Western Conference standings. Sacramento at 8-29 is 14th in the conference, 0.5 games away from last place.
Kings vs Mavericks highlights
Kings next five games
Jan. 9 at Golden State Warriors
Jan. 11 vs. Houston Rockets
Jan. 12 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Jan. 14 vs. New York Knicks
Jan. 16 vs. Washington Wizards