The Kings competed against the Dallas Mavericks, a massive improvement over Tuesday's no-show in Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, without Tyreke Evans for a second consecutive game, the Kings couldn't match up and lost 116-100. Sacramento showed some pluck in turning a double-digit halftime deficit into a tie at 68-68. But Jason Kidd soon went on a killing spree, hitting six three-pointers (!) in the third quarter as Dallas ran away. (The Kings, by the way, hit four threes all game, and only took eight. Kidd took seven in the third.)
Jermaine Taylor was a revelation early, with 12 points in the first quarter. He started in place of Evans and shot well, hitting two early threes and five of his first seven shots. But he slowed to a crawl in the second half, scoring just two points as the Kings fell behind. DeMarcus Cousins had another double-double, his fifth straight, but shot just 6-19 from the floor against Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood (two great defenders) and coughed up seven turnovers.
Turnovers just killed the Kings. They had 26 in the game, a season-high, including eight in the second and nine in the fourth. Sacramento was two away from the league's season-high (Minnesota and Phoenix have each had 28 against the Grizzlies this year). Dallas is No. 20 in the NBA in turnover creation. That's not a good result!
The Kings are 13-40 on the season, with a tough schedule remaining. Enjoy the break. Sacramento can't lose for the next five days.