As Nemanja Bjelica hit his fourth 3-point shot of the night, one coming not even one minute after his third make and put the Sacramento Kings up 106-95 with 5:12 left, Luka Doncic slumped in frustration and turned his hands upwards, as if to say, “Why?” Dallas had shot poorly all game, but there were moments in the fourth quarter were the game still seemed to be in reach. That moment was not one. In those final five minutes, the closest the Mavericks came to erasing the deficit was five points. Sunday’s final result was a 120-113 loss.



It was an unfortunate loss for Dallas, who had hoped to bank another win or two as they head into a nightmare four-game road trip, one that kicks off the road-heaviest portion of their schedule played almost exclusively against playoff opponents. Dallas is 15-13; a few days ago, 17-11 seemed in reach. Instead, the Mavericks lost in Phoenix to the league’s worst team — and now again on Sunday, though the Sacramento...