The Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks played in a high-stakes Play-in game tonight, with the loser seeing their season come to an end. Unfortunately for the Kings, they came out on the losing side despite having home-court advantage, falling to a 106-120 loss to the Mavericks. Dallas will now face the Memphis Grizzlies with a chance to seal the No. 8 seed while the Kings are eliminated.
The Kings were feeling good about their chances of picking up this win, trolling the Mavericks at the start of the game during player introductions. They played the ‘My Little Pony’ theme track for their introductions, with a horse audibly neighing as the players’ names were announced.
Kings arena welcomes the visiting Mavericks by playing the My Little Pony theme song and horse neighs during player introductions
LOL pic.twitter.com/Ec5nO20k34
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 17, 2025
This is the second-straight year that the Kings’ season has ended in the Play-In Tournament. They played the 9-10 game last season as well, but managed to advance after a win over the Golden State Warriors, losing to the New Orleans Pelicans in the deciding game for the No. 8 seed.
This loss also means the Kings have now made the Playoffs just once in the last 19 seasons, with their appearance coming in 2023. They made bold moves this season, like acquiring DeMar DeRozan in the offseason before trading De’Aaron Fox to land Zach LaVine and other future assets.
DeRozan and LaVine were the only ones who went out on their shield tonight. DeMar put up 33 points (13-28 FG) with seven rebounds, while LaVine put up 20 points (8-19 FG) and nine assists. Domantas Sabonis let them down with a disappointing 11 points (5-13 FG) and 13 rebounds.
They also fired the coach who took them to their only Playoff appearance, Mike Brown, in the middle of the season. Their future direction is so unclear, with a cast of ill-fitting veterans who won’t necessarily improve if they were given a chance to run it back.
The Mavericks have been downtrodden over the last month, hoping for an injured Anthony Davis to lead them to a miracle Playoff run.
It worked tonight with Davis leading the Mavericks with 27 points (9-23 FG), nine rebounds, and three blocks in a dominant showing. He was complemented well by Klay Thompson’s 23 points (8-11 FG), while recent signing Brandon Williams came off the bench for 17 points (5-8 FG) and five assists. PJ Washington had an inefficient but solid 17 points (5-15 FG) and nine rebounds.
The Kings have a long offseason ahead of them to fix their roster, while the Mavericks have another shot at Playoff qualification, with a game against the Memphis Grizzlies to decide the No. 8 seed in the West.
