The Sacramento Kings came into the night with all the cards stacked against them. Rajon Rondo, Omri Casspi and Willie Cauley-Stein were all out due to injury. They were 0-8 on the season in the second night of a back-to-back. They hadn’t won a regular-season game in Dallas since 2003.
It took an incredible 3-pointer at the buzzer by Deron Williams in double overtime, but it happened again. Heartbreaking doesn’t even cut. Somehow, someway, the Kings lost again to the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center by a final of 117-116.
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DeMarcus Cousins dominated the Dallas frontline. His performance in the second overtime was other wordly. Cousins scored seven of his game-high 35 points in the final five-minute session. He added 17 rebounds and six steals, but turned the ball over 10 times in a wild one.
[WATCH: Cousins buries double-OT trifecta to put Kings back on top]
With nearly half of the rotation sitting the game out, Rudy Gay stepped up to score 31 points on 13-for-18 shooting. Despite the back-to-back, he looked energized and ready to compete all game long. His 3-ball in double-OT gave the Kings a five-point lead.
Marco Belinelli missed plenty of wide open jumpers on the night, but his two huge 3-pointers in the final minute of the regulation kept the Kings breathing. The sharpshooting wing finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
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[WATCH: Belinelli drains clutch 3 to tie game with 13 seconds left]
Darren Collison started for Rondo and chipped in 14 points, including the first four points of the first overtime. Collison added 12 assists in 47 minutes of action.
Quincy Acy picked up his fourth start of the season and gave the Kings a nice boost. The seldom-used forward dropped in 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Williams scored 25 for the Mavs, including a huge floater that nearly won the game in regulation and the bomb to end it. The veteran stepped up when his team needed it.
Future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki came up big late, hitting one jumper after another to finish with 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting. His triple inside of thirty seconds set up the final sequence.
Wes Matthews spurned the Kings in free agency and found a way to hurt them again on Tuesday night. The veteran guard scored 20 points in the win. JaVale McGee added 13 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks as the Mavs improved to 20-15 on the season.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
In the mid-third quarter, DeMarcus Cousins tore down his fifth board of the night, giving him 4,007 rebounds in his career. He is now the all-time leading rebounder in the Sacramento-era of Kings basketball, surpassing former All-Star Chris Webber.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Cousins couldn’t be stopped. His 10 turnovers hurt, but everything else he did tonight in Dallas said star.
TURNING POINT
Williams' 3-pointer at the buzzer decided this one, but the play before when the Kings were called for a 24-second violation with 1.5 seconds remaining left just enough time for Dallas to win.
INJURY UPDATE
The injury report for the Kings almost took two emails to send. Rajon Rondo missed the game with lower back spasms. Willie Cauley-Stein missed the game after receiving three stitches in his right middle finger on Monday night, and Omri Casspi missed his second straight game with upper back soreness.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Kings fly home to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday evening in Kobe Bryant’s final game in Sacramento.