Dallas Mavericks Finally Break the Curse, Overthrow the Kings

The lengthy streak of losses for the Dallas Mavericks is finally over as they took down the Sacramento Kings 106-99. Dallas now sits half a game in front of the Kings in the Western Conference standings.

After 5 straight losses and 8 out of the last 9, the Dallas Mavericks are happy to put another win on their record. This win may have not been pretty and their are still plenty of things the Mavericks need to work on, but it is nice to see a favorable ending to a game for the first time in awhile.

The game was pretty close from start to finish as both teams were shooting the ball fairly well. Sacramento took a 28-27 lead into the 2nd quarter, but Dallas answered by outscoring the Kings by 3 in the second to take a 56-54 lead into the half.

The Kings answered once again as they lead by 4 going into the final quarter, but Dallas used a 18-0 run at the beginning of the 4th quarter to essentially take the Kings completely out of the game. Sacramento tried to mount a comeback behind De’Aaron Fox, but it was too little too late as Harrison Barnes threw down a big dunk to ice the game.

The Mavs were led in scoring by Harrison Barnes who had 18 on an efficient 7-14 night. Dwight Powell also had a great game with his second highest scoring effort of the season as he scored 17 points on 7-9 shooting. He also managed to grab 9 rebounds, including 4 offensive.

Other Mavs in double-digits include Dirk Nowitzki with 15, Dennis Smith Jr. with 12, and Wesley Matthews and Yogi Ferrell with 11 apiece. Devin Harris added 9, Salah Mejri had 8, and JJ Barea scored only 5 to round out the Mavs scoring. Maxi Kleber did not score as he got only one minute of playing time tonight.

The Kings were led in scoring by De’Aaron Fox and Garrett Temple with 15 each, as well as 14 for Zach Randolph and Willie Cauley Stein and 13 for Buddy Hield. Sacramento shot over 52% from the field but were hindered by a rough 8-27 from beyond the arc. The Mavs meanwhile shot just under 50%, but knocked in 13-41 three-pointers, including 4 for Barnes and 3 each for Yogi and Dirk.

Let’s take a look at a brief good, bad, and ugly for Dallas tonight.

SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 3: Harrison Barnes #40 of the Dallas Mavericks shoots the ball against the Sacramento Kings on February 3, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

GOOD

The Dallas Mavericks got a win and Harrison Barnes shot 50% from the field and from three. After a few really rough shooting nights for the former Tar Heel, it’s nice to see him hitting shots closer to his normal clip.

BAD

J.J. Barea’s shooting slump has not settled as the little Puerto Rican was 2-12 from the field and 1-9 from three-point. This has been a very interesting season for Barea who was one of the few bright spots in the early season but has now become a bit of a burden on the court of late. Hopefully he can get back on track soon.

UGLY

Dallas allowed Sacramento to shoot over 52% from the field tonight. Playing a balanced team like Sacramento can cause problems because you never know where the points are going to come from, but to allow a team with 16 wins to shoot over 50% from you is pretty bad.

Next: Should the Dallas Mavericks Chase Aaron Gordon?

The Dallas Mavericks will look to start a new win-streak against the new-look Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in LA at 9:30 central time.

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