SACRAMENTO — The Mavericks were shorthanded the last time they fell to the Kings.
That fact remained true Tuesday night without P.J. Washington, but they brought reinforcements back to Sacramento with Anthony Davis and Brandon Williams, a duo that missed the last meeting at Golden 1 Center just 11 days ago.
When the Mavericks needed him most, Williams delivered. He drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with 33.3 seconds left to help the Mavericks to a 100-98 win in front of a national audience.
“Just shot it with confidence,” Williams said. “I could kinda see it in Cooper’s eyes that he was gonna get off of it so I just had to be ready to shoot. Regardless of what my percentage says, I’m always ready to shoot.”
The Kings had three chances to take the lead following Williams’ clutch triple, but Dennis Schröder and Russell Westbrook went cold and missed 3-pointers. Sacramento regained hope when Naji Marshall missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, but DeMar DeRozan couldn’t convert on a running triple at the final buzzer.
It appeared as if rookie Cooper Flagg would be the one to save the day once he connected on a turnaround bank shot, but DeRozan temporarily stole the moment away from the Mavericks rookie by drilling a contested midrange jumper over the outstretched hands of Marshall.
The shot appeared to be the one for Sacramento to sandwich a five-game losing streak with another rare win. However, Williams’ shot proved to be the difference maker and the Mavericks escaped with their first road win since Dec. 1.
Williams entered the night shooting a career-worst 18.8% from beyond the arc. He only had three conversions out of his last 18 3-point attempts since Dec. 18, but he was relieved once he saw the ball snap through the net on his final attempt of the night.
“It’s been a minute since I hit a 3,” Williams said. “It kind of felt good for the ball to go in. It was like 30 seconds left so we had to finish the game out for me to really feel good.”
Dallas trailed by as many as 12 points, but rallied after halftime to force their 28th clutch game thanks to its 30-point third quarter.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd pointed to turnovers and the Kings’ shotmaking ability as primary reasons why his team suffered a 113-107 loss on Dec. 27. It was a game that marked the Kings’ last victory, which was followed by six straight losses.
It appeared to be the same story for Tuesday’s defeat as Dallas coughed the ball up 17 times, which led to 19 points for Sacramento.
The Kings (8-29), who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, aren’t the best team but for some reason they have the Mavericks’ number through the first two meetings of the season. Sacramento will visit American Airlines Center for the season finale on Feb. 26.
Tuesday marked the first of a three-game road trip for the Mavericks, who snapped their seven-game losing streak in opposing arenas.
The Mavericks were led by Flagg, who played through an injury scare and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Davis added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Williams added 18 points off the bench, but none were more important than his rare triple that gave the Mavericks the edge for good.
Flagg, who’s already one game shy of the 37 he played as a freshman at Duke, has been quite durable despite minor bumps and bruises throughout the season. That appeared to be in jeopardy in the third quarter when his left knee collided with the left knee of Kings forward Precious Achiuwa.
After going through a series of tests to assess the strength of his knee, Flagg returned to the game, which was the best case scenario for a Mavericks roster who’ve had more than their fair share of injuries this season. Washington missed Tuesday’s game with a right ankle sprain suffered in Saturday’s win over Houston. Flagg said his knee was a little swollen, but assured that “it’ll be alright.”
Davis provided a much-needed boost on the boards along with Daniel Gafford, who finished with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Davis has seen his fair share of shooting struggles so he’s familiar with what Williams is going through this season, but he said a game-winner is a confidence booster.
“That’s when you find it,” Davis said. “Those are the shots that lead to carryover shooting and carry over confidence for the rest of the season, so even if he was lacking confidence, which we know that he doesn’t, plays like that … you find confidence in plays like that.”
The Mavericks will look to build on their momentum Thursday against the Utah Jazz. Williams also missed the last loss to the Jazz on Dec. 15, so he’s looking forward for the opportunity to avenge that loss as well.
Story by Mike Curtis, The Dallas Morning News.