Klay Thompson leads Mavericks past Kings in play-in after last year’s dud with Warriors
By JOSH DUBOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 16 of his 23 points in Dallas’ dominant second quarter to get redemption for his dud for the Warriors in Sacramento a year ago, helping the Mavericks beat the Kings 120-106 on Wednesday night to advance in the play-in tournament.
One year to the day when Thompson missed all 10 shots in his final game for Golden State in a play-in loss in Sacramento, Thompson fueled the win with four 3-pointers in Dallas’ 44-point second quarter. That turned the game into a laugher and kept the Mavericks’ chaotic season alive for at least one more game.
“Human nature, when you end a season on a sour note like that you want to come out and prove people wrong,” Thompson said. “But I thought I did a good job to start the game of trying to dish, rebound, play defense. The shots came to me after that.”
Dallas advanced to play at Memphis on Friday night for the chance to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West. The winner of that game will open the playoffs on Sunday at top-seeded Oklahoma City. The Grizzlies lost the 7-vs.-8 play-in game to the Warriors on Tuesday night.
As for the Kings, soon after the game, the team and general manager Monte McNair agreed to part ways. A person familiar with the decision said the sides mutually agreed on the breakup. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced the move.
The Mavs have undergone a rough season after trading young superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a seismic trade that brought Anthony Davis to Dallas and vitriol from the fan base to the organization.
Star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a season-ending knee injury shortly after that trade, ending any realistic hopes of another deep playoff run after making it to the NBA Finals last season.
“We’ve had a tumultuous season to say the least,” Thompson said. “The injury bug has struck us like I’ve never seen before. But we’re still here playing postseason basketball. We can really give the city of Dallas some hope, especially if we go to Memphis and repeat this type of performance.”
Dallas opened the second quarter with a 20-6 run fueled by back-to-back 3s from Thompson. Thompson hit two more 3s later in the quarter as the Mavs built the lead to 23 points at the half, removing any drama.
“We shot it very well, get stops on defense and were able to run,” said Davis, who led Dallas with 27 points. “Offense was clicking. We had what, 44 in the quarter? We played with a lot of pace and opened up the game.”
DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points for the Kings, and and Zach LaVine added 20.
It was a disappointing ending to an underwhelming season for the Kings, who fired coach Mike Brown in December and traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio in February. It all led to Sacramento missing the playoffs for the 18th time in 19 seasons, raising questions about the team’s future.
“This is where I want to be,” interim coach Doug Christie said. “You guys know that. I need to finish what I started.”