Kings Bounce Back, Beat Mavericks 116-100
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Marvin Bagley III didn't think it was a big deal when he missed Sacramento's first game against Dallas and Luka Doncic three months ago because of a sore left knee.
Bagley had the same feeling after the two rookie stars finally crossed paths on an NBA court, too.
Bagley III had 22 points and 12 rebounds while outplaying Doncic, and the Kings beat the Mavericks 116-100 on Thursday night.
"It was fun," Bagley said. "Everybody knows what he can do. He's a great player. He's been doing a lot of good things for his team but tonight we just had to lock in together and come out and play hard."
Bagley was taken by Sacramento with the second overall pick in this season's draft. Doncic, who many Kings fans had openly lobbied for, went to Dallas with the third selection.
Clearly each team is happy with what the player it has.
Doncic is the front-runner for Rookie of the Year while Bagley has steadily improved while coming off the bench most of the season. The double-double was Bagley's 14th this season.
"I watch Marvin a lot," Doncic said. "He's a special talent. He has a lot of potential. He's going to make it and go far."
Buddy Hield scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and De'Aaron Fox added 15 points and nine assists for Sacramento. Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.
Former Kings forward Justin Jackson scored 19 points in his first start with Dallas. Dwight Powell added 14 points.
Two nights after blowing a 28-point, second-half lead in a 123-121 loss to Brooklyn, Sacramento built another big advantage against Dallas and held on in the fourth behind Bagley.
The Kings rookie made a three-point play on a spinning layup to open the final period. Bagley later dunked off a short miss by Yogi Ferrell then made a pair of 3-pointers to stretch Sacramento's led to 116-97.
"Marvin did a nice job in the post," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "Our bigs in general, especially in the second half, really did a good job in the pick-and-roll."
Doncic had an uneven game with 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting. He added 10 rebounds.
Dallas has lost 15 of 17.
"Everyone is loading up on (Doncic) and this is nothing new," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "There will be some nights where his jumper is just a little short. It just comes with the territory."
Both teams were sluggish for most of the first half until Barnes dunked to cap a fast break for Sacramento after Fox made a tremendous play to save the ball from going out of bounds. Fox then stole the ball near the Mavs' 3-point line and drove in for another dunk.
The Kings led by 15 midway through the third but the Mavericks ended the period with three consecutive 3-pointers and pulled within 84-76.
The Mavericks are now 28-44 on the season and are 14th in the Western Conference.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
