Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/5/2022

Time: 5 p.m. ET

Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX

Where to watch: Bally Sports Southwest-Dallas, NBC Sports California

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: Mavs -7.5

Caesars: NL

Kings: 24-41

Mavericks: 38-25

We’re reaching God mode with Luka Doncic. There’s no other way to explain it. The way he’s carried this team to these incredible wins may not get him into MVP talks just yet, but it’s making the Dallas Mavericks a formidable team out West.

 

Doncic and the Mavericks will try for their fourth straight win and 10th in 12 game when they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday in the second game of a four-game homestand.

 

Imagine though for one minute if Dallas had kept things rolling with no blemishes. The Mavericks lost by two to the Los Angeles Clippers despite a heroic 45 points from Doncic, and nearly overcame a rough outing from Doncic to lose by only five to the Utah Jazz.

 

The Mavs are very much in the conversation of being one of the hottest teams over the last month. So much so that Doncic was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for February the other day, and so far through March he’s picked up where he left off. Doncic had 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in Dallas’ 122-113 win over the Golden State Warriors at home on Thursday.

 

"We have in the past maybe melted mentally when the ball hits the rim and there's no call," Kidd said. "It just showed growth. I think our maturity level was high. We responded in a positive way."

 

But perhaps the biggest story to come out of this game was the way Spencer Dinwiddie made plays to close out the game. Dinwiddie finished with 17 points and seven assists in just 29 minutes off the bench, once again proving he’s been an incredible pickup at the trade deadline when the deal for Kristaps Porzingis went down.

 

Not only has Dinwiddie found his scoring touch, but being that second ball handler with Doncic has been a godsend for Dallas. He’s been tremendous in the pick-and-roll and making Dwight Powell look like his old self again, and he’s finding the open man with ease it seems.

 

"I'm not surprised," Doncic said about the surge from Dinwiddie, who had 24 points in Dallas’ come-from-behind victory earlier in the week at Golden State. "I thought it was going to take a little bit longer. He's a great player, and he's a great fit for us."

 

The schedule won’t be totally favorable for the Mavs as they try to close in on the Memphis Grizzlies for the top spot in the Southwest Division and ensure that a top-6 seed is clinched. But it helps facing a Sacramento team that doesn’t have much to play for and is spending this time trying to incorporate Domantas Sabonis more into the fold.

 

But the Kings are coming off a 115-112 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night led by 27 points from former Dallas forward Harrison Barnes. De’Aaron Fox finished with 26 poiints and nine assists to offset a quiet 12-point night from Sabonis.

 

"We talked about resiliency," Sacramento coach Alvin Gentry said. "You've just got to keep your focus and you've got to figure out how you can make plays that are going to help you in those last two minutes of the game to get over the hump."

 

That’s the kind of game the Kings need to have over the final 17 games, but how much of that is going to actually happen remains to be seen. The Kings continue to be a dumpster fire that is nowhere near ready to take on contenders in the West. That includes Dallas, which is going to be a dangerous force for as long as Doncic is putting up these kinds of numbers.

 

The Kings are about to find that out greatly.

It’s just wild watching what this kid has done. He can become the greatest Mavs player to ever do it if he wins a championship in the future. Yes, thinking he’s better than Dirk Nowitzki can be a bit of an agonizing trip, but it might be worth it if he can continue to register triple-double after triple-double and make it look so easy from a scoring perspective. Sacramento is about to be in for a very long night. Mavs by 16

The Kings are 597-608 ATS as an underdog since 1996.

The Kings are 4-14 ATS this season after losing two of three.

The under is 22-9 when the Mavs are at home this season.

The Mavs are 403-414 ATS as a home favorite since 1996.

PG: De'Aaron Fox

SG: Justin Holiday

SF: Harrison Barnes

PF: Mo Harkless

C: Domantas Sabonis

PG: Luka Doncic

SG: Jalen Brunson

SF: Reggie Bullock

PF: Dorian Finney-Smith

C: Dwight Powell

Kings: Richaun Holmes (out)

Mavericks: Tim Hardaway Jr. (out), Trey Burke (out), Maxi Kleber (out)

Points: De'Aaron Fox -- 22.1

Rebounds: Harrison Barnes -- 6.0

Assists: De'Aaron Fox -- 5.3

Points: Luka Doncic -- 27.8

Rebounds: Luka Doncic -- 9.2

Assists: Luka Doncic -- 8.8