Emanuel Sharp needed three shots to leave a mark on Sacramento’s 115-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. He made all three, all from beyond the arc, and his nine points became part of a larger problem for Dallas: the Kings had scoring available well beyond the names most likely to command attention.
That mattered at American Airlines Center because Sacramento’s familiar engines were already productive. Malik Monk scored 24 points and Zach LaVine added 23, while Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 25. The Kings did not need Sharp to manufacture offense or Black to carry a scoring burden.
They needed complementary makes, and they received them often enough to keep Dallas from turning every Sacramento possession into a referendum on its leading scorers.
Black supplied the more visible swing. Dallas had moved ahead 65-64 on Daniel Gafford’s and-one with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter, the Mavericks’ last lead. At 5:49, Black answered with a 25-foot three, putting Sacramento back in front 67-65.
Acuff assisted that basket. Later, with 3:26 left in the period, Black made another three from 24 feet, again with Acuff credited for the assist, and Sacramento held a 74-67 advantage.
Those were not just decorative makes in a box score. They arrived during the stretch in which a one-point Dallas edge became a seven-point Sacramento lead. Black finished with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three, and added four steals. His night was valuable precisely because he did not need a steady stream of possessions to change the shape of the game.
Sharp’s contribution came in smaller pieces. One of his makes was particularly useful early in the fourth. With 10:21 left in the fourth quarter, he made a running three-pointer, moving the score from 83-74 to 86-74.
Sacramento then continued to score through several different players: LaVine made a three at 9:44, Monk hit a mid-range jumper at 8:46 and followed with a three at 8:02. No single make explains the separation, but the sequence shows how the Kings kept adding points without waiting for one scorer to rescue every possession.
The supporting work also widened the room for Monk and LaVine. Monk handed out seven assists, including the pass to LaVine for the three that made it 89-77 and another connection on LaVine’s three at 2:46, which pushed the margin to 109-93. LaVine added another three at 2:18, making the late gap even less negotiable.