National Basketball Association
Dallas 112, Sacramento 96
When: 6:00 PM ET, Friday, December 31, 2021
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Officials: #3 Nick Buchert, #16 David Guthrie, # Brent Haskill
Attendance: 15833

Kristaps Porzingis scored a game-high 24 points, Jalen Brunson had 23 and the Dallas Mavericks used a balanced attack to turn the tables on the host Sacramento Kings for a 112-96 victory Friday afternoon in the finale of a two-game set.

Getting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Chimezie Metu, the Kings took the opener 95-94 on Wednesday.

Facing a Mavericks team still missing Luka Doncic, Sacramento grabbed an early upper hand in its bid for a sweep. However, Dallas dominated the middle two quarters, erasing all of an early double-digit deficit before halftime en route to the easy win.

The Mavericks outscored the Kings 60-37 in the middle 24 minutes.

Porzingis hit eight of 12 shots in his sixth outing with 23 or more points in his past seven games. He also contributed a game-high nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks to the win, which was just the Mavericks' third in their past eight games.

Brunson likewise shot well (11-for-19) and filled out his stat line impressively with a team-high eight assists and five rebounds. He has scored at least 23 points in four of his past six games.

All five Dallas starters scored in double figures, with Brunson and Porzingis joined by Reggie Bullock with 16 points, Dwight Powell with 13 and Dorian Finney-Smith with 12.

Dallas shot 51.9 percent for the game.

Tyrese Haliburton recorded a 17-point, 10-assist double-double for the Kings, who were seeking a third win in four days. He shot 4-for-5 on 3-point attempts, but Sacramento finished at just 34.5 percent from beyond the arc as his teammates shot a combined 6-for-24.

Marvin Bagley III chipped in with 15 points for Sacramento, while Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes added 11 points apiece. Metu, De'Aaron Fox and Damian Jones went for 10 points each.

Jones earned rebound honors for the Kings with eight and Holmes collected seven, but the hosts were dominated on the boards 47-33.

Powell, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss added to the Dallas advantage in rebounding with seven apiece.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Dallas   Sacramento
Kristaps Porzingis 24 Scoring Tyrese Haliburton 17
Jalen Brunson 8 Assists Tyrese Haliburton 10
Kristaps Porzingis 9 Rebounds Damian Jones 8
Kristaps Porzingis 6 Free Throws Made Harrison Barnes 3
Dwight Powell 2 Steals Chimezie Metu 2
Kristaps Porzingis 2 Blocks De'Aaron Fox 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Dallas 112 51.9 9-22 19-22 30 47 7 5 13
Sacramento 96 41.8 10-29 10-12 25 33 4 7 10
Upcoming Games
  • Sacramento will play their next game at home against Miami. The Kings have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .381 after a loss.
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Oklahoma City. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .353 after a win and .611 after a loss.