Luka Dončić had 29 points (12 in the third quarter) and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 123-119.
Kyrie Irving’s 18-foot pull-up jumper put the Mavericks ahead for good with 6:34 left in the fourth quarter.
The Kings got within 114-112 on Kevin Huerter’s 3-pointer with 3:44 to play, but Irving answered with a pull-up 3-pointer, and the Kings got no closer than 117-114.
During clutch time, the teams each scored 8. Irving (No. 4 in clutch wins added, 2022-23) scored 6 of the Mavericks’ 8 on 2 for 2 shooting. In the fourth quarter, De'Aaron Fox had 5 of his 8 assists, 3 of them on baskets by Huerter, Trey Lyles and Malik Monk that put the Kings ahead.
Irving had 31 points and 8 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 24 points (11 in the third quarter) with 5 3-pointers. Irving scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Kings, Fox had 28 points and 8 assists, and Domantas Sabonis added 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on 8 for 11 shooting, his 32nd career triple-double.
The Mavericks shot 49.4% from the field and 45.5% from 3 to the Kings’ 43.4% and 32.4%. The Mavericks made 20 3-pointers, 6 of them by Irving and 5 by Hardaway. The Kings outscored the Mavericks 58-36 in the paint. The Mavericks’ starters outscored the Kings 35-23 in 11 minutes together.