Nemanja Bjelica scores career-high 30 for Kings, snapping three-game losing streak
Former EuroLeague MVP comes alive in upset road win in Dallas
Monday 9 December 2019 11:39, UK
Nemanja Bjelica could see another game slipping away from the Sacramento Kings with the ball in Luka Doncic's hands.
But Doncic missed a tying attempt in the final seconds as the Kings withstood a furious rally and beat the Mavericks 110-106 on Sunday night.
With the memory of an overtime loss at San Antonio on Friday fresh in his mind, Bjelica - a former EuroLeague MVP with Fenerbahce - matched his career best with 30 points.
"One of the best, here for sure," Bjelica said of the victory to NBC Sports following the win. "I was feeling good, coach trusts me, I have a green light to shoot. That's my advantage on offense. I need to get a little bit better on defense, but the important thing is we won the game."
After dominating in Turkey, the 6' 10" Serbian signed with Minnesota in 2015, but played a bit role for the team over three seasons. He came alive in Sacramento last year, starting 70 games. Now the 31-year-old veteran has made a fan of new head coach Luke Walton.
"He's a heck of a ball player," Walton said. "We keep talking to him about how we view him as much more than just a space four-man. When he was younger in Europe, he played point guard for his club team. He's got the skill, the passing ability and the shooting ability to really put the pressure on defenses."
Bjelica is seeing more minutes in the absence of second-year forward Marvin Bagley III, who is out with a broken thumb but set to return soon. Walton will have a difficult decision to make regarding his starting rotation at that point.
"[Bjelica's] got the skill, the passing ability and shooting ability to really put pressure on the defense," Kings coach Luke Walton added. "We're constantly encouraging him to be more aggressive and I thought tonight, he was aggressive and it helps when you're knocking down those shots too."
"It feels good to win," Bjelica said. "After we lost [Friday] against San Antonio, it's a very important win for us."
'Comfort zone'
Richaun Holmes rebounded Doncic's attempt to tie the game with eight seconds left. Doncic had taken Sacramento's Cory Joseph down the lane for the turnaround shot that clanged off the front of the rim. After the rebound, the Kings called a timeout. Bogdan Bogdanovic in-bounded to Bjelica for a layup that sealed the win."We all see how great Luka is," Holmes said, "so you just try to do as much as you can to take him out his comfort zone."
Sacramento ended a three-game losing streak. Dallas had won five straight and 10 of 11 before the loss.
Buddy Hield scored 26 points, including five three-pointers, for Sacramento. Former Maverick Harrison Barnes had 13, Holmes added 12 and a game-high nine rebounds. Bogdanovic and Trevor Ariza scored 10 each.
The Mavericks' high scorer was Tim Hardaway Jr. with 29 points. He kept the Mavs in the game by making a career-high nine of 12 three-pointers.
Doncic finished with 27 points, including 17 in the second half after Sacramento had sprinted to a 66-46 lead.
"We were very disappointed at our defense in the first half, and the second half was certainly way better," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "But, gotta play the whole game. A disappointing loss."
