The Dallas Mavericks overcame the absence of superstar Luka Doncic and a 19-point this quarter deficit to win their fourth straight game on Saturday night.
With Doncic sidelined by a toe sprain, Coach Jason Kidd inserted Spencer Dinwiddie, who had been starring off the bench as one of the NBA’s best trade deadline acquisitions, into the starting lineup and the new Mav went off with a 36-point, seven-assist effort.
The Mavs also got strong performances from Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson, who collaborated on the game-winning play in the final seconds, when Brunson found Finney-Smith for a corner three with three seconds remaining to give Dallas a 114-113 win over the Sacramento Kings. Brunson had another solid performance with 23 points and six assists while Finney-Smith scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and knocked down five treys, including the game-winner.
“[Jalen] made a heck of a play and that’s just trust for this group,” Coach Kidd said. “No matter what the score is, they keep fighting, they keep believing. That’s what we talked about at halftime, ‘Do we believe we can win this game?’ and those guys said they believed and they kept fighting and found a way to win a game.”
Dallas struggled to find their rhythm offensively early in the contest with Doncic sidelined. On the other end of the floor, the Mavs had trouble defending the paint. Midway through the frame, De’Aaron Fox used his speed to get by defenders and score three consecutive buckets. His mini 6-2 run gave the Kings a 10-point lead. Dallas was able to finally knock down some shots in final minutes of the first quarter, but Sacramento kept answering to keep their lead at 10 at the end of the quarter, 36-26.
The second quarter began with much of the same, the two teams exchanging baskets, which hindered the Mavs ability to cut into their deficit. Halfway through the second quarter, the Kings went on a 8-0 run to push their lead to 19. Dinwiddie tried to spark a run by attacking the basket and earned two trips to the charity stripe, where he hit all four of his free throws. In the final minute of the half, Dinwiddie found Josh Green twice, with Green hitting a floater and then a three-pointer. Brunson added a corner three pointer of his own to pull Dallas within 11 with 15 seconds left in the half. But Fox continued his hot first half, hitting a three pointer at the buzzer to give Sacramento a 65-51 lead at the break. Fox went into halftime with 23 points.
During the third quarter, the Mavs were determined to cut their deficit and make their way back into the game. Dallas started to claw their way back with a 9-4 run during which Dinwiddie hit a jumper and then found Dwight Powell under the rim. Powell continued the run by finding Finney-Smith who hit a 25-foot three-pointer, cutting Sacramento’s lead to 10 points.
Led by Brunson’s aggressive play, Dallas spent the late stages of the third attacking the basket and drawing fouls. The Mavs converted eight of 12 free throws in the quarter. They put an exclamation point on 11-4 run to end the third when Davis Bertans found Josh Green in the corner, and the second year guard out of Australia nailed a 23-foot three-pointer to pull Dallas within seven, 92-85, at the end of the third.
Dinwiddie led the way in the fourth, scoring 13 of his 36 in the final frame. He started it out by hitting a three, then moments later drove in to hit a floater. A bucket by Justin Holiday briefly stopped the bleeding for the Kings, but the momentum had completely shifted in favor of the Mavs, and a Finney-Smith three-pointer put them within one. The next possession Dinwiddie used a screen by Powell to get a mismatch and attacked the paint to finish a layup and give Dallas a 95-94 lead.
Fox, who finished with a game-high 44 points, quickly responded by scoring five points in succession and Sacramento took back the lead. However, Brunson answered with another drive to the bucket for a layup while drawing a foul, and the subsequent free throw pulled the Mavs within one, 99-98. The two teams continued to battle closely, but Fox continued to dominate the Dallas defense, and his bucket with just under three minutes to play left the Mavericks down by seven.
Not to be denied, Dinwiddie sparked an 8-0 Dallas run with a trey. Then, after fruitless possessions from each side left just over a minute on the clock, he found Finney-Smith for a three to make it a one-point game. Dallas got another stop as Fox finally went cold, and in transition, Dinwiddie utilized his speed to get around a screen and finish a contested layup, giving the Mavs a one-point lead.
Given a chance to take the lead, Fox drew a foul, but was only able to sink one of two free throws, which tied up the game at 111-111 with 10 seconds left. Everyone in American Airlines Center was on their feet as Brunson dribbled the ball up the court and quickly accelerated through the paint to draw multiple defenders. That left Finney-Smith wide open in the corner. Brunson delivered a perfect pass, which the 6-7 forward drilled to give the Mavs a three-point lead with three seconds left.
Sacramento got a look at a game-tying three, but strong perimeter defense from Brunson forced Harrison Barnes to misfire from 30-feet and though Holliday’s tip-in counted, it left the Kings one point short.
All told, it was a big night for Brunson, Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith, as the trio stepped up in Doncic’s absence and combined for 27 of Dallas’ 29 points in the fourth quarter. Coach Kidd lauded his troops after the game for not using’s Luka’s unexpected absence as an excuse.
“We want Luka playing, but I thought it just took us some time to get used to not having Luka on the floor for those first two quarters,” Coach Kidd said. “I thought the guys got their legs and kind of got their rhythm without Luka out there. That helps us and it makes us a better team.”