Brandon Williams hit a go-ahead three with 33.9 seconds left, propelling the Dallas Mavericks to a 100-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Tuesday. “Brandon… he was a big reason for us, not just that shot, but for our offense. He got us going there,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said.
Kidd praised the team’s resilience in tight situations. “We didn’t play our best, but we found a way to win a close game and ugly… we’ve been in every situation there could be for close games,” he said.
After trailing 58-46 at halftime, Kidd credited the third-quarter adjustments for the comeback. “We cut it down to three in that third quarter… we talked about at halftime what we needed to do better… we started to play as a team,” he explained.
Cooper Flagg overcame an injury scare in the third quarter to contribute down the stretch. “He showed his toughness, coming back… for him to make plays down the stretch was big for us,” Kidd said.
Kidd also highlighted Anthony Davis’ dominance on the boards. “AD offensively had some good looks… defensively he was huge for us… he was big on the rebound, too,” he said, noting that offensive rebounding was a key factor in a game where Dallas shot just 40%.
Naji Marshall’s second-half performance drew praise for both scoring and defense. “He made a big three for us in the corner… defensively, he did a really good job on DeRozan and LaVine… he loves to play and wants to help the team win,” Kidd said.
The Mavericks’ defense limited Sacramento to 29% shooting from three-point range. “We were trying to contest… last time we were here they shot the three well, so we made a conscious effort of taking them off the line,” Kidd said.
Kidd reflected on the significance of breaking the Mavericks’ seven-game road losing streak. “It shows a lot of character in that locker room… we could be down, but we’re going to play hard and try to find a way to get back in games,” he said.
Dallas improved to 14-23, relying on Flagg’s 20 points, Davis’ 19 points and 16 rebounds, Marshall’s 15 points, and Gafford’s 13 boards. Sacramento, without injured Keegan Murray, saw strong showings from DeMar DeRozan (21) and Zach LaVine (20), but the late-game execution fell short.
