Final: Mavs 99, Kings 79

Box Score | Highlights

Behind the Box Score

Early in the second quarter, Deron Williams moved past Mavs all-time great Derek Harper for 21st place on the NBA’s all-time assists list. It was career assist No. 6,578 for the three-time All-Star, and 597th as a Maverick. This was also Williams’ 800th game.

In other milestone news, tonight’s win gave Rick Carlisle 668 for his career, which moves him past Mike Fratello into sole possession of 19th place on the NBA’s all-time wins list. Carlisle is nowhere near finished climbing up that list, either. Next up is legendary Knicks head coach Red Holzman, at 696.

The Mavs took an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter. It’s the sixth time they’ve held such a lead after three frames, and they’re now 6-0 in those instances. The Mavs have unfortunately suffered more losses than wins this season, but this was the third time in two weeks that Dallas controlled a game basically from the opening tip (Chicago and Denver are the other two). Not surprisingly, their recent run coincides with a string of home games. The Mavs are going on the road for just about the rest of 2016, but this young team is getting better at taking leads and then closing the door.

Notebook

  • You can half-laughingly call this a revenge game if you want, given the relatively low stakes of this single game, but the fact of the matter is the Mavs were embarrassed, frankly, on their home court by these same Kings just 11 days ago. The Mavericks came out like they had something to prove today, and the end result not only helped to atone from the club’s previous loss to Sacramento, but it also carried forward the positive momentum the team established during its 15-point comeback in Utah on Friday night, even though that game ended in disappointing fashion. The Mavs have turned some kind of corner in recent weeks, now 4-5 in their last nine games. You would want to see something closer to 6-3 or perhaps even better, but this is certainly progress. The on-court product has been so much better these last couple weeks, and with help potentially on the way very soon in the form of Dirk Nowitzki and J.J. Barea, the Mavs just might be positioning themselves for a nice run moving forward.

  • Dorian Finney-Smith scored a career-high 17 points in this one, his fourth game in double-figures in his last six appearances. During that time, he’s 12 of 24 from beyond the arc. Finney-Smith was a great story earlier this season when he made the team, and then he became a surprising starter, but now he’s turning into a bona fide NBA rotation player. At some point if he continues to play this way, the conversation will shift toward where he ranks among rookies. He shoots the lights out and plays terrific defense at multiple positions. He’s got the chance to be very good.

  • The biggest stat in Mavs world during the last few games is offensive rebounds. The Mavs allowed 20 of them in a win against Denver last week, then got burned again in two losses to Detroit and Utah. But in the first half tonight, Dallas allowed just two offensive rebounds, securing 18 defensive boards in the process. Rick Carlisle has said over and over that his team must come together and rebound as a five-man unit to help overcome strength disadvantages on almost a nightly basis given the injury to Andrew Bogut. That was certainly case in the first half tonight, as Harrison Barnes chipped in with six first-half boards and most guards grabbed one or two themselves. That’s going to have to continue to be the recipe for as long as Bogut is out. Devin Harris finished with a season-high seven rebounds in the effort, also adding a season-best 14 points in what was easily his best performance of the campaign.

  • Seth Curry has kind of flown under the radar in recent weeks, but the first-year Mav has found his stride of late. Heading into this contest, Curry had been averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 assists in his last four games, shooting better than 60 percent from deep in that time span. The 26-year-old made a huge impact in this game, particularly in the first half, finishing his night’s work with 13 points, four assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a drawn charge. He also made this pass on the fast break, which was pretty sweet.


    What’s Next

    The Mavs (7-20) play the Denver Nuggets (11-16) on Monday at the Pepsi Center at 8 p.m. Central.

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