The Sacramento Kings improved to 9-7 on the road this season by knocking off the Dallas Mavericks on their home floor by a final of 120-113.
Rookie Luka Doncic led the way for the Mavs, scoring 28 points and dishing out nine assists. Veteran big man DeAndre Jordan grabbed a game-high 23 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to stop the Kings.
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Here are three takeaways as Sacramento handed Dallas just its third home loss of the season and improved to 16-13 on the season.
Run, Buddy, run
Buddy Hield looked like a pinball bouncing all over the court. Like Kings backcourt mate De’Aaron Fox, Hield pushed the tempo at every opportunity.
Hield dropped in 28 points while knocking down 12 of 23 shots from the field and 3 of 9 from long range.
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The scoring performance marked the 15th time this season that Hield had posted 20 points or more in a game. He accomplished the feat 13 times in 80 games last season for Sacramento.
Shake-n-Bake
Doncic can’t stay with De’Aaron Fox. There aren’t many players who can.
The sophomore guard pushed the tempo, and when he was isolated on Doncic, he ran right around him and scored at the rim.
Fox posted 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. He had an off night as a distributor, finishing with just five assists in 32 minutes, but he added three steals and controlled the game down the stretch.
You’ve got to Bjelieve
Nemanja Bjelica is one of those rare players who senses what his team needs and then fills the void.
With Marvin Bagley III out of action with a left knee bone bruise, the Serbian forward received the bulk of the minutes at power forward. He answered the call with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long range, including two huge triples with the game on the line in the fourth quarter.
The 30-year-old forward also blocked Harrison Barnes four times and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win.