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Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks | Pregame Need To Know

Heralded rookies Marvin Bagley III and Luka Doncic to face-off in Sacramento tonight, when the Kings host the Mavs in their only trip of the season to Golden 1 Center.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings will look to rid themselves of the awful, stunning collapse of letting a 28-point lead slip away, as D’Angelo Russell and his Brooklyn Nets rallied to beat the Sacramento on their home court on Tuesday, 123-121.

Dave Joerger is hoping the hangover from Tuesday’s debacle is lifted by the time his Kings (34-36) take the floor tonight when they host the Dallas Mavericks (28-42) for the first time at Golden 1 Center this season.

“We blew it,” Kings rookie Marvin Bagley III said following the loss to Brooklyn, where Russell dropped 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter to steal the win away from Sacramento. “I hate losing, especially like that.”

Joerger is hoping a lesson was learned in that meltdown – not getting too comfortable with a large lead.

“I think we’ll be better for having gone through this,” he said following the game. “You’re going to have opportunities to put teams away. You’ve got to do that.”

Tuesday’s collapse capped off a string recent of disappointing losses, as Sacramento suffered its 10th defeat in the last 14 games, and realistically eliminating them from any playoff contention; even if the mathematics prove otherwise.

Former Kings forward Justin Jackson will make his first return to Sacramento for the first time since the February trade that sent him and Zach Randolph to Dallas in exchange for Harrison Barnes. Randolph was released by the Mavericks, while Jackson has appeared in 18 games and averaged 5.4 points and 1.7 rebounds, in 13.7 minutes per game with Dallas.

Tonight’s game will be the only trip to Sacramento this season for the Mavericks, who dropped the first of three matchups with the Kings this season.

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points, dished five assists and recorded three steals to lead Sacramento to a 120-113 victory back on Dec. 16. Star rookie Luka Doncic had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Mavs in the loss.

Fans from both teams will look forward to seeing Doncic and Kings’ rookie Marvin Bagley III play each other for the first time as NBA players. They were on opposing teams during the Rising Star Challenge at All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, but have never faced each other in an NBA game.

Both players were options for the Kings in last year’s draft. And while much of the team’s fan-base seemed split on the two rookies, Kings general manager Vlade Divac was confident in who they would select.

Bagley, the former Duke star who was selected by the Kings with the second overall pick of last June’s NBA draft was sidelined with a bone bruise in his left knee in the victory on Dec. 16 in Dallas. Doncic was selected third by the Hawks and later traded to the Mavs for the draft rights to Trae Young and protected future first round pick in this year’s draft.

The Kings 6-11 power forward has missed 19 games this season due to injuries in his left knee, but has been stellar while available primarily off the Kings bench. He’s averaged 14.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in 24.3 minutes this season. However, Bagley has been even more impressive after the All-Star break, where he’s averaged 19.9 points and 8.5 rebounds in those eight contests.

Doncic, meanwhile, is the favorite to win this season’s NBA Rookie of the Year award, despite the lack of success from his Mavericks team. He’s averaging 21.1 points, 5.8 assists and 7.5 rebounds as a starter for the Mavs, in 32.3 minutes per game.

The third and final meeting between the Kings and Mavericks will take place in Dallas, next Tuesday on Mar. 26. 

Want more Kings coverage? Check out the Sacramento Kings playlist on the ABC10 YouTube channel. Join in the Kings conversation with ABC10's Lina Washington and Sean Cunningham every Wednesday at 3 p.m. on Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

Dallas Mavericks at Sacramento Kings:

When: Thursday, March 21th, 7:00pm PST

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

TV: NBCS-CA

Radio: KHTK 1140 AM

If you're viewing on the ABC10 App, tap here for multimedia.

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