SACRAMENTO – There were cheers. There were boos. But at the end of the night, there was no beam shining above Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.
The Kings' 2024-25 NBA season came to an end after a 120-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA play-in tournament.
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SIGN UP HERE Dallas led by as many as 26 points, and while Sacramento made a predictable third-quarter run, the game never really was close beyond the first quarter.
It was a matchup between two teams with franchise-altering changes this season, including trading away their stars midseason. But even after the turbulent season Dallas endured, it managed to outperform Sacramento in a do-or-die game.
No Luka Dončić. No Kyrie Irving. No problem for Dallas.
In just his 10th game with the Mavericks, Anthony Davis led the way for his new squad with 27 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks in 35 minutes. Klay Thompson added 23 in a sweet, sweet revenge game. P.J. Washington contributed 17, and Brandon Williams added 17 off the bench.
NBA
For the Kings, DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 33 points. Zach LaVine added 20.
It's all over, but here are three takeaways from the season-ending loss:
Rollercoaster Season Ends
After a coaching change, trading their franchise player and all the ups and downs in between, the Kings' 2024-25 season officially is over.
It is their earliest postseason exit in three years.
Just two seasons ago, the Kings snapped their 16-season NBA playoff drought as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Just one season later, they won two fewer games and dropped to the No. 9 seed. They defeated the Golden State Warriors in the first of a win-or-go-home play-in game but fell to the New Orleans Pelicans in the second play-in game.
They've now made a playoff appearance just twice in the last 20 seasons.
The season ending had less to do with Wednesday's game specifically and much more on the larger picture of the team's roster flaws that must be addressed this offseason.
Which, for Sacramento, now begins Thursday morning.
Klay’s Revenge
The last time Thompson stepped foot into Golden 1 Center for a play-in game, he went scoreless as the Kings ended the Golden State Warriors’ 2023-24 season.
The sharpshooter had an unusual performance through 32 minutes last year, shooting 0 of 10 from the field and 0 of 6 from beyond the arc.
A large part of his unforgettable night, which wound up being his final game in a Warriors uniform, was the defense from Keon Ellis. Ellis said before Wednesday’s game that he anticipated Thompson would want to bounce back from last year’s showing.
So did Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
Both were correct. Thompson had 16 points at the half and finished the game with 23 points and five 3-pointers.
BUILT DIFFERENT 👀 pic.twitter.com/NhCMmmKgwS
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 17, 2025
A much more memorable game for the four-time NBA champion.
Keegan’s (Very) Tall Task
The Kings have faced Davis plenty while he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. But Wednesday was their first meeting with the 6-foot-10 star big man since he was shipped to the Mavericks at the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Davis played just nine regular-season games with the Mavericks due to a left adductor strain he suffered in his first game with the team. Over the last five games with Dallas, the 32-year-old averaged 21.8 points on 50.6-percent shooting with 11.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 blocks in 29.6 minutes.
And his presence was impactful as ever Wednesday night.
The Mavericks wisely utilized their two-big lineup, with Davis playing the forward position alongside 7-foot-1 Derek Lively at the 5. This meant 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward Keegan Murray had the large task of defending the 6-foot-10, 253-pound Davis for a vast majority of the game.
Murray has done a decent job guarding up this season and is one of the Kings' better defenders, but there's only so much one can do to limit someone of Davis' stature.
Davis finished with 27 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, with nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks in 35 minutes.