The Dallas Mavericks walked into Monday night with a chance to handle business against the NBA’s only winless team. Instead, they came out with an ugly 115-100 loss to the Sacramento Kings, and the kind of performance that leaves a lot of questions hanging in the air.
Dallas was already making things harder on itself by resting Kyrie Irving, and the offense never really found steady ground without him. The first quarter set the tone immediately: the Mavericks put up just 18 points and went 1/11 from beyond the arc. Sacramento wasn’t much cleaner, scoring 19, so the game opened as a slog and stayed that way for a long stretch.
Daniel Gafford was the one bright spot early. He kept the Mavericks afloat with strong finishing around the rim and even knocked down a turnaround fadeaway in the midrange for an and-one. He opened the night 7/8 from the floor, easily his best offensive stretch since the Luka Doncic trade.
Cooper Flagg, meanwhile, needed a little longer to get going. He started 0/4, but finally got his first basket of the night with a dunk in the second quarter to push Dallas ahead 31-30.
That didn’t spark much of a run, though. Morez Johnson Jr. gave the Mavericks a useful burst in the period, grabbing offensive boards, finding P.J.
Washington for an open three, drawing fouls, and scoring 6 points in a short span.
Even with that, Dallas couldn’t separate. Malik Monk’s three-pointer sent Sacramento into halftime with a 54-53 lead, and Flagg’s first-half line told the story: 2/10 from the field.
The third quarter didn’t bring much relief. The pace stayed slow, the shot-making stayed shaky, and the Kings kept loading up on Flagg because Dallas didn’t have another obvious scorer to force the issue. Sacramento carried an 81-74 lead into the fourth.
The Kings then pushed it further early in the final period. Emanuel Sharp hit a stepback transition three to help open a double-digit cushion, and Monk kept pouring it on. His 21st point stretched the lead to 15 with four minutes gone in the fourth.
Walter Clayton Jr. gave Dallas a brief lift by knocking down a three to trim the margin to 7, but Monk and Darius Acuff Jr. answered every time the Mavericks tried to make it interesting. The deficit never dipped below 10 again, and Sacramento closed out the win.
Monk was a major problem throughout the night, but the Mavericks also had bigger issues staring them in the face. Max Christie has gotten off to a rough start, and even the part of his game that should travel - his three-point shooting - hasn’t been there.
He left with a hip injury, but the problems were already obvious. The Mavericks likely can’t count on him as more than a role player, especially with Zaccharie Risacher and Caleb Martin having been better so far this season.
The bigger concern is the same one that keeps showing up when Irving sits or Flagg has an off night: Dallas doesn’t have enough self-created offense. Daniel Gafford gave them a strong game, but nobody else looked comfortable trying to generate shots. Without Irving and with Flagg struggling, the Mavericks were left without a reliable engine.
Flagg has looked like one of the 10 best players in the NBA during the first week and a half of the season, but this one was rough. The Kings kept sending extra attention his way, and he still didn’t play well enough to overcome it.
At 19 years old, he’s already carrying a huge load, but this was a reminder that he’s still human. He finished 3/19 from the floor with 6 turnovers.
In Other News...
Kyrie Irving Trade Noise Is Colliding With Dallas Bigger Decision
With the Mavericks off to a strong start, the chatter around Kyrie Irving has only grown louder, but the teams stance has stayed firm. NBA insider Marc Stein reported that Dallas has no intention of moving Irving this season and is not entertaining trade inquiries, even as outside speculation continues to swirl around his future.
Irving is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, which naturally invites questions about what comes next, especially with other teams keeping an eye on the situation. But the Mavericks have been clear that he is not available, and Irving has also expressed a desire to stay in Dallas, leaving the bigger decision to play out without any sign the front office is ready to budge. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Got A Harsh Look At Life Without Kyrie
The Mavericks got a blunt reminder of how much their offense leans on Kyrie Irving in a 115-100 loss to Sacramento, a game that turned quickly once Dallas was forced to play without its lead guard. The Kings were still searching for their first win of the season and found it behind rookie Darius Acuff, who put together a lively all-around showing with 25 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Dallas had some resistance from Daniel Gafford and Walter Clayton Jr., who finished with 20 points apiece, but the night became even more difficult when Max Christie was hurt and could not return. With the Mavericks already short-handed, the injury only added to the sense that this was a game they never quite had the pieces to steady, and it leaves another layer to sort through as the schedule keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Got Another Backcourt Concern They Could Not Afford
The Mavericks backcourt took another hit Monday night when Max Christie exited the game against the Sacramento Kings with a right hip injury and did not return. Christie was on the floor for about eight minutes before leaving, and Dallas had to shuffle its rotation again in response to the injury situation already hanging over the roster.
Christie missed all of his shots in the brief outing, finishing with two rebounds, one steal and one turnover before Walter Clayton Jr. stepped in for him. For a team already trying to piece together guard minutes around other injured players, any added concern in the backcourt is one Dallas could hardly afford. [Read more 🡒]