Mavs keep play-in hopes alive with 123-119 win over Kings

DALLAS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 25 of his 31points during a second-half rally, and the Dallas Mavericks stayedin the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conferenceplayoffs with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings onWednesday night.

Luka Doncic had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Mavericks(38-42) matched Oklahoma City’s record for the 10th seed in theWest with two games remaining.

The Thunder own the tiebreaker, so Dallas, which reached theWest finals last year, needs at least one Oklahoma City loss tohave a chance at another playoff run.

Facing the brink of postseason elimination with a loss, theMavericks rallied from 13 points down in the third quarter, whenIrving started and finished a 12-0 run with 3-pointers for an 82-78lead.

Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 24 points, had the othertwo 3s on the run as Doncic and Irving won for the fifth time in 16games together since the blockbuster trade that brought Irving fromBrooklyn.

Dallas ended a three-game losing streak with just its secondvictory in its past nine games.

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis had atriple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for theKings, who have already ended a 16-year playoff drought and are allbut locked in to the third seed in the West.

Irving put Dallas ahead for good with a jumper midway throughthe fourth quarter, and the lead was three when he hit ahigh-arching 3 from the corner for a 120-114 lead with two minutesremaining.

Sacramento had a season-high 22 offensive rebounds for a 30-14edge in second-chance points, but the Mavericks had the biggest oneof the game when Christian Wood grabbed a miss from Irving and fiveseconds later hit a 3-pointer for a 123-114 lead with a minute togo.

Wood scored 14 points despite 5-of-15 shooting.

TIP-INS

Kings: All five starters scored in double figures. HarrisonBarnes had 16 points against his former team, Kevin Huerter scored14 and Keegan Murray added 11.

Mavericks: Starters Reggie Bullock and Dwight Powell combinedfor just five points on just four shots. ... Josh Green had 10points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT

Kings: Golden State in home finale Friday.

Mavericks: Chicago visits Friday.