Spirit surged, but turnovers and defensive lapses extinguished Mavericks' comeback, handing Sacramento a costly victory despite a star's offensive explosion.
SACRAMENTO — The Dallas Mavericks spent Saturday afternoon chasing momentum they could never quite secure, and by the time the final horn sounded at Golden 1 Center, another winnable game had slipped away.
Despite two spirited comeback attempts and a late push that briefly put pressure on the Sacramento Kings, Dallas undermined itself with turnovers, defensive lapses and a flat start in a 113–107 loss that continued a frustrating road swing. The defeat dropped the Mavericks to 12–21 and marked their second straight loss on a trip that concludes Monday in Portland. Sacramento, which had lost six of its previous seven games, improved to 8–23.
The story unfolded in fits and starts. Dallas fell behind early, surged back, then repeatedly unraveled at the worst possible moments. Each rally was followed by a mistake, each opening closed just as quickly as it appeared.
Cooper Flagg embodied the uneven nature of the afternoon. Limited to just two points at halftime, the 19-year-old erupted in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 23 points, nearly dragging Dallas back into contention by himself. But even as the Mavericks closed gaps, they could not sustain stops or value possessions long enough to flip the game.
After the loss, Flagg reflected on a night defined by near-misses rather than breakthroughs.
“We were making runs all game, but the problem was we just weren’t getting the stops to back up the runs,” Flagg said. “We’d go on a run, they’d go on a run. We were able to give ourselves a little bit of a chance.
“But we can’t expect to win digging ourselves a hole like that and having 20 turnovers is not a winning formula.”
The official total was even harsher: 21 turnovers. Six of them came in a disastrous four-minute stretch shortly after Dallas had trimmed a 17-point deficit to 71–68. Instead of capitalizing, the Mavericks handed Sacramento extra possessions, watched the lead balloon back to 88–70 and lost the rhythm they had worked to build.
Jason Kidd pointed to that sequence as emblematic of the afternoon.
“Turnovers, a lot of them,” Kidd said. “We came out a little flat. But I thought after halftime we started to play the way we’re supposed to. We just dug a big hole.”
Dallas made one final charge late, rattling off seven straight points in the final two minutes to cut the deficit to 109–104. An exchange of baskets kept the margin at five before P.J. Washington was whistled for a charge with 41.7 seconds remaining. Kidd challenged the call, but it stood.
The Kings missed on the ensuing possession, but Dwight Powell split a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds left, leaving Sacramento ahead 111–107. Russell Westbrook inbounded the ball to DeMar DeRozan, whose free throws with nine seconds remaining sealed the outcome.
Westbrook’s fingerprints were all over the game. The 37-year-old finished with 21 points and nine assists, passed Magic Johnson for seventh on the NBA’s all-time assists list and knocked down 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc — a rarity even in a long, decorated career.
Flagg, who went 5-for-5 in the third quarter, took notice.
“It’s incredible. He’s a great player, still,” Flagg said. “He’s been a great player for a really long time. I’ve been watching him since I was a little kid. So it’s really cool to be able to battle someone like him, someone that has had the career he’s had and still able to do it at such a high level.”
Fatigue also loomed in the background. Dallas has crisscrossed the country with little rest, playing five games with no more than a single day off and traveling from Philadelphia to the West Coast. The energy lag was noticeable early, when the Mavericks played catch-up for most of the first half.
Washington acknowledged the toll but refused to lean on it.
“I think the road trip has been tough,” Washington said. “Obviously, we’re professionals. There’s no excuses. We have to be better. We can’t just blame it on that. I think the biggest thing for us was turnovers. If we clean up a little bit of that, it’s a different outcome.
“I don’t feel like they were pressuring the ball enough to make us get 20 turnovers. So I think it was all on ourselves.”
Injuries further complicated matters for both teams. Dallas played without Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II and Dante Exum, while Sacramento was missing Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Zach LaVine. Kings coach Doug Christie framed it as a reality every staff must navigate.
“In this business, you’re going to have to learn how to hit the curveball,” Christie said.
Kidd echoed the sentiment, viewing the situation as both a challenge and a necessity.
“It’s a next-man-up mentality, but also for us as a staff, (it’s a chance) to figure out who can do what,” Kidd said. “In this league, you have to give everyone a fair shot before you can understand what guys can do and put them in a position to be successful.”
The absence of Davis has been particularly costly. Dallas is 8–8 with him in the lineup and 4–13 without him, a stark contrast that underscores his importance.
“Hopefully it’s not long,” Kidd said. “Hopefully he’s feeling better. We’ll see here in the next couple days of how long he’ll be out.”
There were smaller positives. Klay Thompson continued to settle into a sixth-man role, scoring 14 points and hitting 4 of 8 from three-point range. Dwight Powell chipped in 11 rebounds in 19 minutes, and Dallas shot 48.1% from deep on 27 attempts — a significant uptick from earlier in the week.
Still, those gains were drowned out by familiar mistakes. The Mavericks left Sacramento with another reminder that effort alone is not enough. Without discipline and defensive consistency, even the best rallies fade, and the margin for error continues to shrink.