ROBIN AND BATMAN: Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic lead Mavs to road sweep of Kings

With a late 3-pointer by Dante Exum to break a tie, Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 56 points, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 107-103 on Friday night to complete a two-game road sweep.

Mar 29, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) dribbles next to Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) in the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center.

With a game-high 12 assists and 30 points in the lead, Irving and Doncic finished with a double-double for the Mavericks (44-29), who had defeated the Hornets 132-96 in the first game of the four-day double-header on Tuesday.

After starting the two-game series knotted, Domantas Sabonis recorded an NBA-leading 26th triple-double with 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and a team-high 10 assists for the Kings (42-31), who now trail the Mavericks by two games in the Western Conference playoff race.

Exum’s game-winning basket with 28.5 seconds left in the 6:51 final frame came after five lead changes and four ties. It followed a stretch of play in which neither side scored for over two minutes, following a 3-pointer by De’Aaron Fox with 2:35 remaining to tie the Kings at 103 points apiece.

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Following Exum’s score, the Kings had two chances to cut the lead or tie the game. However, with 18.4 seconds left, Harrison Barnes missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, and then he threw the ball away for an offensive rebound after Keegan Murray had collected it.

With 4.1 seconds remaining, Doncic converted the second of his two free throws, sealing Dallas’ sixth consecutive victory.

After a 3-pointer by Keon Ellis with 8:59 remaining put the Mavericks behind 92-82, but they responded with 12 consecutive points, two of which came from Irving’s free throws, which gave the visitors a two-point lead with 6:21 left.

With Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks can beat anyone -  Mavs Moneyball

Irving scored a game-high 16 points on 11 of his 16 shots. The Mavericks, who played the perimeter-focused Kings to a 45-45 standstill, were led by him to three 3-pointers and Doncic to four in eight attempts.

Doncic was just one rebound away from recording his 20th triple-double of the year.

For Dallas, which used the sweep to split the four-game season series with the Kings, Dereck Lively II added 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench. The away team prevailed in each of the four games.

With 23 points, Fox led the Kings. He also managed three steals, five assists, six rebounds, and six steals. For Sacramento, which is experiencing its first losing skid since February, Barnes scored 20 points, Ellis 16 and Murray 12.