The Dallas Mavericks are one of the best teams in the league. Luka Doncic is a two-time MVP, and Dereck Lively has become a great pick-and-roll partner. Apart from the Nuggets, for three seasons have been the most consistent in the Western Conference.
They have the same record as the Kings and usually should make the playoffs.
The Mavs got off to a good start, with Lively scoring the first points. Lively is an 18-10 average player but does not have All-Star selections. He is helmed by Jokic, Hector, KAT, and Wembanyama without forgetting the power and small forwards. Consider him as a poor man's Gobert.
It is complicated for him to make a breach. But Dallas started well and led 16- after 5 minutes of play. Hector, apart from grabbing rebounds, did nothing. The Kings are in no hurry, the game has just started, and it would be foolish to panic.
It took until the last 3 minutes of the quarter to see Hector score his first points. His offensive desire is not very strong but he grabs an offensive rebound and then tips the ball.
Duarte missed his 3-pointer in the next possession, but Hector got another offensive rebound. Seeing that he can't finish at the layup, he intelligently backs up and performs a fadeaway.
Dallas is well ahead of the Kings, and a 3-pointer by Hector at the buzzer will allow Sacramento to limit the damage and finish the quarter with a score of 35-22.
This game does not count for the NBA Cup, but losing at home to a direct opponent without forgetting a possible tie-breaker is unpleasant. None of the teams has any interest in losing today.
You can say what you want, but most contenders never start their seasons with a bang, and some teams give the impression of choosing the game. That's the impression of those watching the Kings play today.
Hector is unusually clumsy, Fox looks more like a tractor than a Ferrari, and the Kings' defense is a sieve tonight. The Kings are currently the league's second-ranked defense in defensive rating. No one understands what is going on.
But the bench will give a second wind. Tacko Fall returned to the NBA as a backup in Sacramento, grabbed an offensive rebound, and finished to layup. Malik Monk, still the 6th man, is satisfied with his place in the team and did not hesitate to sign a new 3-year contract.
He gets and makes his two free throws and assists. Colby Jones, drafted in 2023, has become an excellent 3&D. After being tortured by Hector while working on his shoot in his first two seasons, he became more consistent in shooting with faster mechanics.
Vezenkov, the team's only MVP, is still in his role off the bench. It would have been foolish not to keep it, and the arms race is still relevant. It is just who will dynamite the game with a mid-range step back and then a long 2s.
Monk scored a driving layup, but the Mavs got two free throws, breaking the Kings' good momentum.
It doesn't matter because after a 3-pointer exchange between Monk and Normann Powell, Vezenkov makes a driving layup, and Monk makes a long 2s. Doncic, the only NBA MVP, reacts with a 3-pointer of the logo.
After a layup by Keegan Murray, Hector will erupt within two incredible minutes. Since coming back in the middle of the quarter, he still grabbed an offensive rebound and made a block, but he will make a performance that makes no sense.
3:39 Steal on a bad pass.
2:53 Lost ball of Dereck Lively (Hector Herrera steal)
2:46 Stepback on a fake driving layup.
2:10 3-point jumper de Jonathan Isaac (Hector Herrera assist)
1:48 Olivier Maxence-Prosper lost ball turnover (Hector Herrera steals)
Vezenkov then put the Kings back in front by taking advantage of a Hector screen. In two minutes, three steals, and the Kings took the lead. But the quarter ended with Dallas leading 64-60.
Hector grabbed 4 offensive rebounds.