Kings Vs Mavericks: Achiuwa’s Career Night Lifts Sacramento to 130-121 Win in Dallas
The Sacramento win in the kings vs mavericks matchup came down to a scorching start by the visitors and late misses by Dallas. The 130-121 result at American Airlines Center on Thursday ended a two-game winning streak for the Mavericks and pushed both teams deeper into the NBA’s lower tier.
Precious Achiuwa’s career-high and team scoring burst
Precious Achiuwa’s career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds set the tone for Sacramento. Achiuwa poured in 14 in the opening quarter on 6-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-2 from 3, helping the Kings to a 42-28 lead after one. The Kings, sitting 29th in the NBA in scoring, shot 57% from the floor in that first period while Dallas committed six turnovers, allowing Sacramento to build early separation.
How the Mavericks tried to rally — and where it faltered
Dallas fell into a 28-15 hole in the game’s first seven minutes before an 11-2 run, sparked by Naji Marshall, brought the home team back into the game. Marshall didn’t miss in the first quarter, dished two assists, drove for a hoop with 4: 51 left in the opener and hit a cross-court pass that led to a Klay Thompson corner 3 to make it 30-24. Marshall’s two free throws with 3: 08 left pushed him to 13 points in the game’s first nine minutes, and he later eclipsed the 20-point mark before halftime for the fourth time in his Mavericks tenure after entering the night having scored 15 or more in 17 of his last 20 games.
Still, Dallas trailed 68-56 at the half and could not sustain the comeback. Max Christie narrowed a 72-58 deficit with drives and a pair of 3-pointers — making it 72-69 with 8: 47 left in the third — but live-ball turnovers turned momentum back to Sacramento, which answered with a 14-2 run to extend the lead to 86-71. Devin Carter contributed during that swing with three put-back buckets. The third quarter closed with the Kings ahead 100-88.
Kings Vs Mavericks: late-game production and bench scoring
Maxime Raynaud scored 22 for Sacramento and Dequon Plowden added a season-high 19, complementing Achiuwa’s night. Raynaud, who has filled in admirably for much of the season while Domantas Sabonis’ year has been lost to a knee injury, scored eight in the first on 4-of-7 shooting. Those contributions sustained Sacramento through Dallas’ late push and into the fourth.
Individual grades: Dallas performances and availability notes
Max Christie struggled for efficiency overall, finishing 3-for-9 and 2-for-5 from deep with two turnovers and zero assists despite his third-quarter burst. A player identified only as Martin shot 4-for-7, logged an almost shockingly poor plus/minus of minus-25, committed no turnovers and recorded an impressive number of steals. Middleton finished 5-for-9, 2-for-4 from deep, and was 5-for-5 at the line, though he had three turnovers.
Bagley started in place of an unavailable Gafford and was 5-for-6, came just shy of a double-double and was described as a steady positive presence; he took a knee to the head, left for a quick locker-room evaluation, then returned. His night was marred by four turnovers and four fouls. Williams was 6-for-10 but also had three turnovers, three fouls and made only 3-for-7 from the free-throw line; he did hit a big three in the fourth and frequently attacked the defense. Klay Thompson mirrored Christie in output and largely flew under the radar. A young player identified as Johnson earned the highest grade, dropping 11 points — eight of them in the fourth — on 4-for-4 shooting with two and-ones and was singled out as the best game of his short Mavericks tenure by default.
Missed free throws, turnovers and the final tally
The sequence of events was clear: because Dallas allowed Sacramento efficient early shooting (57% in the first) and committed six turnovers in that quarter, the Mavericks started with a sizable deficit that hampered comeback attempts. Dallas finished with 17 turnovers and made just 21 of 34 free throws, failures that compounded late and ultimately prevented the rally from completing. The loss left the Mavericks at 21-37 and the Kings at 14-47 after the 130-121 final.
What makes this notable is how a visiting team with several unexpected contributors — a career night from Achiuwa, 22 from Raynaud and a season-high 19 from Plowden — turned a game against a struggling but streaking Dallas club into a decisive road victory.
