Streaking Mavs, Rockets have major battle in Space City

HOUSTON – Arguably one of the biggest regular-season games ever between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets will occur Sunday at 6 p.m. when the I-45 rivals collide at the Toyota Center. The red-hot Rockets are the hottest team in the NBA with 11 wins in a row. The Mavs are the second-hottest team in […]



‘Great team basketball’ is what the Mavericks are playing these days

SACRAMENTO – The last time this much carnage was inflicted on northern California, the gold rushers were taking everything they could find that was worth anything. This time, it was the Mavericks leaving this place barren. They put the worst kind of hurt on the Sacramento Kings with a blowout win on Tuesday, then a […]



Mavericks topple Kings on Exum’s late three-pointer

SACRAMENTO – This wasn’t the scorched-earth kind of win like the Mavericks had Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. This one, actually, may have been sweeter. The Mavericks had to grind out a hard-fought 107-103 victory over the Kings at Golden 1 Center, overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit behind Kyrie Irving’s hot hand and a clutch […]



Mavs notebook: Similarities aside, it’s too early to draw comparisons to 2022

SACRAMENTO – While the similarities are striking, it’s a bit unfair to compare these Mavericks with the group that reached the conference finals in 2022. This group has yet to accomplish anything, in the big scope of things. The team two years ago was greater than the sum of its parts. It was well-coached and […]



Mavs-Kings preview: ‘Different Sac team’ awaits in enticing rematch

SACRAMENTO – If the Mavericks can put together another win over Sacramento Friday night, it wouldn’t exactly give them a death grip on at least a top-six seeding in the Western Conference. But they’d be well on their way to squeezing the life out of a few contenders for those spots, especially the Kings. The […]



Working-man Lively will support Duke from afar

SACRAMENTO – In some respects, Dereck Lively II is like all of us who have a job to do. Sometimes, that work stuff gets in the way of the fun things we’d really like to be doing. If Lively could be at American Airlines Center on Friday for Duke’s meeting with Houston in the NCAA […]



Doubters silenced! Mavericks’ defense has proven itself

SACRAMENTO – Remember the early and middle parts of this NBA season when coach Jason Kidd said that the Mavericks’ best defense was their offense? Yeah, it seems like a long time ago. These days, the Mavericks are proving to the many doubters out there that they can stop opponents from scoring. Kidd and his […]



Mavericks dismantle Kings in first of two critical meetings

SACRAMENTO – If this is how the Mavericks respond to higher-stakes competition, consider the rest of the NBA to be on notice. With Luka Dončić shaking off a sore right Achilles and Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. coming alive after halftime, the Mavericks steamrolled the Sacramento Kings 132-96 in the first of two crucial […]



Playing through Gafford, others is top takeaway from win in Utah

SACRAMENTO – As the Mavericks made a quick getaway from Salt Lake City after beating the Utah Jazz 115-105 on Monday night, they were prepping almost immediately for the upcoming games against Sacramento. But what they did in Utah was worthy of revisiting. They trailed through the first three quarters and it was beginning to […]



Mavs-Kings preview: ‘Very big games’ will impact playoff fortunes

SACRAMENTO – With a nod to the great Magic Johnson, the Mavericks have officially arrived at “Winnin’ time” for this season. They are riding high with eight wins in their last nine games. The Sacramento Kings have won four of five. It’s a grand stage for two games between two teams who are both desperately […]