Sacramento Kings (14-47) beat Dallas Mavericks (21-37) 130-121 on the road on Thursday, February 26 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 251 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Kings struck first, taking the opening quarter 42-28 and a 14-point lead after one. The Mavericks cut into the deficit with a 28-26 second quarter, though the Kings still led by 12 at halftime.
The teams matched each other with 32 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Kings remained ahead by 12 entering the fourth. The Mavericks took the fourth 33-30; the Kings held on for a 130-121 regulation win.
What decided it
The Kings took better care of the ball, turning it over on 4% of possessions compared with 16.2% for the Mavericks. The Kings grabbed 32% of their own misses, while the Mavericks recovered 21.1%. Those extra possessions were crucial.
The Mavericks did win one battle, shooting: eFG% of 61.7% against 54.5%. The Kings made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 103 possessions per team, the Kings produced 126.9 points per 100 possessions to 118.1 for the Mavericks.
Who made the difference
Precious Achiuwa was the game's biggest individual force for SAC: 29 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl on 13-19 shooting. His Game Score of 32.2 led everyone. His team was +14 with him on the floor.
Naji Marshall led the Mavericks with 36 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast on 14-23 shooting, good for a 27.7 Game Score.
Naji Marshall (36 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast) and Precious Achiuwa (29 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Kings entered with about a 22% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Sacramento Kings lead 4-2.
The Kings are now 14-47, and the Mavericks are 21-37. The Kings last five before this game: L-L-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.