The Dallas Mavericks (21-37) were beaten early and late by the Sacramento Kings (14-47) at home on Thursday, falling 130-121 in their first home game in over a month. Precious Achiuwa scored a career high 29 points against Dallas, leading the Kings. He also chipped in 12 rebounds and four assists. Naji Marshall was the best Dallas player, scoring 36 to go along with 10 rebounds and six helpers.
Dallas, TX
Mavericks vs Kings Final Score: Dallas falls to Sacramento, 130-121
The first quarter of Mavericks-Kings really proved that in the NBA, anything is possible. With a couple of wonky lineups, largely due to neither team having anything resembling their normal roster, there wasn’t much defense to be played on either side of the ball. And while Marshall had himself a quarter, scoring 13, every other Maverick was some variation of bad. The Kings, meanwhile, put up baskets with ease. Dallas left quarter one down 42-28.
The Kings stopped scoring at will in the second quarter, and the two teams settled into a bit of a slog. Sacramento did grow the lead to as many as 18 in the frame before Dallas found some dignity and made a push. But they weren’t able to make it a close game in one quarter. Sacramento finally committed a few turnovers in the latter minutes of the half to give Dallas a chance to cut it to single digits, only for a last-second turnover, which led to a Kings basket. Dallas trailed 68-56 at the half.
The third quarter was something special. The Mavericks cut the Kings lead down to three very quickly to start the half, only to get walloped on a huge Kings run. The game then teetered back and forth between single and double digits. Marvin Bagley went down with a head injury, which slowed the Dallas momentum. The Mavericks found themselves down 12 as the quarter ended, which was the same amount they were down when the second half began. Dallas trailed 100-88 with 12 minutes to go.
The Dallas Mavericks made things interesting, you have to give them that. The fourth quarter was a slow collapse by the Kings, a theme we’ve seen all season as Dallas shocks people simply by playing hard. The 12 point lead whittled down to 2 points with two minutes remaining, only for the Kings to wake up and close out the contest. Dallas falls, somehow, 130-121. A masterful tank.
That was a genuinely shocking game
Perhaps it’s me. Maybe I’m the problem. Maybe I don’t believe enough, in Jason Kidd, in this Dallas Mavericks team.
When I noticed this four game slate in mid-December, when the Dallas season was already over and no one knew it, I marked it down as a stretch which would cause the fandom to go NUTS. Four straight wins, even against the Grizzlies, who weren’t yet tanking either. The Kings were bad. They should be beatable every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
But no, not for our Dallas Mavericks. With PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford out, with Cooper Flagg out, this was a game Dallas wanted to lose institutionally. Don’t let the players hear that, of course. Kidd played Marshall 42 freaking minutes, and the dude battled his butt off. But Caleb Martin exists, and he’s one of the players on this team who probably shouldn’t be in the NBA at this point. He played a mere 20 minutes but was outscored 25 points while he was on the floor. That’s so hard to do!
But Dallas did it. And they lost.
Now, they’ll win some games they shouldn’t. They have too much veteran talent to actually TANK, like the Kings, Jazz, and other moribund franchies. But for now, enjoy how ridiculous a loss this was. Go Mavs.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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