Kings at Mavericks
The status of Dallas All-Star Luka Doncic might not be known until close to game time when the Dallas Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. The 20-year-old point guard missed the past seven games due to an ankle injury but is hoping to play in the club's final game before the All-Star break.
Dallas is 3-4 without Doncic and certainly missed him Monday, when it got off to a lethargic start during a 123-119 home loss to the Utah Jazz to drop to 14-14 at home. "It was a very, very poor performance in the first half," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said afterward. "The defense was terrible. The second half, obviously, was much better. The biggest symptom of our problems at home is our starts to games and (Monday) we just didn't get there. We're going to have to do a lot better." The Kings won six of their past nine games but suffered a 123-111 road loss to the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Sacramento allowed at least 120 points in each of its past four setbacks and seven of its last nine.
TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS California, FS Southwest, Sportsnet Now
ABOUT THE KINGS (21-32): Small forward Harrison Barnes made a season-best five 3-pointers and scored 23 points against the Bucks and tallied 20 or more in back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Barnes scored 25 points in the previous game against the San Antonio Spurs and is 17-of-26 shooting over the past two contests. Point guard De'Aaron Fox recorded 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds but was just 5-of-19 shooting against the Bucks.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (32-22): That poor start that frustrated Carlisle led to Dallas trailing 71-50 at the break. "We're professionals. Our job is to come out here and compete," Carlisle said. "We did a hell of a job of competing in the second half and a very poor job in the first half. You've got to put two halves together in this league." Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting - including 5-of-10 from 3-point range - and the word he used to describe the first half was "embarrassing."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks notched a 127-123 road win on Jan. 15 to end the Kings' four-game winning streak in the series.
2. F Jabari Parker, who was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks last week, could make his Sacramento debut.
3. Dallas has reportedly agreed to terms with F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in 2012 who recently received a buyout from the Charlotte Hornets.