All too familiar: Sacramento gets lucky against Dallas, again
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings 95-94 Wednesday night. Seriously, what is with Sacramento and channeling the ghosts of NBA's elite past? Tyrese Haliburton might as well be Magic Johnson. Harrison Barnes must be James Worthy. And De'Aaron Fox is possessed with the spirit of Byron Scott. Those three […]
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings 95-94 Wednesday night.
Seriously, what is with Sacramento and channeling the ghosts of NBA's elite past? Tyrese Haliburton might as well be Magic Johnson. Harrison Barnes must be James Worthy. And De'Aaron Fox is possessed with the spirit of Byron Scott.
Those three tend to be the usual culprits against Dallas. But, Wednesday night's arch-villain goes by the name of Chimezie Metu, and he got lucky on his corner 3-point game-winning jump shot.
"Our defense gave us a chance to win the game," Jalen Brunson said. "I guess you got to tip your hat to Metu."
Down two points with mere seconds remaining, Dwight Powell doubled the drive to the basket, leaving Metu open. He's a 26 percent career 3-point shooter. And this season, he's shooting 24 percent on nearly four attempts a game.
You read that right.
Powell played the percentages. Dallas wanted to win, not play for overtime. You live with a guy like Metu taking a 3-pointer with the game on the line. It just so happens that the inefficient 3-point shooter, Metu, made the biggest shot of his four-year NBA career thus far.
See for yourself.
It's awful. And you should feel sick. Last season, Sacramento took Dallas' lunch money in the final three contests. Early in this season, things looked like they changed. Then, Metu brought all of Dallas back to reality.
No… sorry, he got lucky.
How Dallas could have won
All jokes aside, Dallas should have won this game. It hurts because it feels like one that slipped away. And with each passing day, games that slip away mean even more.
Kristaps Porzingis, starting slow, finished the game with 24 points. 13 came in the fourth quarter alone.
He got help from Jalen Brunson, who scored 25 points — looking everything like an All-Star guard with Davion Mitchell draped all over him for stretches.
So, it was only fitting that the duo received an opportunity to ice the game in Dallas' final offensive passion — the one directly before Metu brought Dallas back to earth.
Brunson dribbled down the clock, not wanting to give Sacramento too much time. When the clock hit six seconds, he attempted to get the ball to Porzingis. The pass was tipped. Porzingis fumbled the ball. And as time ran out, he hoisted up a turnaround jump shot that had no chance of going in.
After the game, Brunson admitted that he should have initiated the play closer to the top of the key. Meanwhile, Porzingis said he should have just let Brunson cook.
The two weren't on the same page. If they were, Dallas could have scored, securing a victory in a ground-out game.
Alas, the mishap led to Dallas' demise at the hands of Metu. And it's no surprise because everyone in a Kings' uniform turns into an All-Star when they play Dallas.
They get lucky.
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Feature image via Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports.
