The Dallas Mavericks were back at home on Monday night after a two-day hiatus to take on the winless Sacramento Kings. You never want to be the team that gives the worst team in the NBA their first win of the season, but that would be made a little tougher as the Mavericks sat Kyrie Irving to let him rest.

They hoped that Cooper Flagg and the rest of the crew would be good enough to keep the Kings in check.

It looked bleak early, as the Mavericks only scored 18 points in the first quarter while shooting 1/11 from three. Luckily, the Kings only scored 19, so it was a struggle-fest.

Cooper Flagg started 0/4 from the floor, and it was really Daniel Gafford cleaning up that had the offense going. He even hit a turnaround fadeaway in the midrange for an and-one, starting the game 7/8 from the floor. Simply put, this was the best he'd played offensively since they traded Luka Doncic.

Flagg finally took the lid off the basket in the second quarter with a dunk, giving the Mavs a 31-30 lead.

Morez Johnson Jr. had arguably the best quarter of his young NBA career, nabbing some big offensive rebounds, kicking to an open P.J. Washington for three, drawing fouls, and scoring 6 points in the span of a few minutes.

Still, that didn't help the Mavericks create any breathing room. In fact, a Malik Monk three took the Kings into halftime with a 54-53 lead. Flagg shot just 2/10 from the field in the first half, a big reason why it looked rough.

It was a lot of the same in the third quarter. Cooper Flagg couldn't buy a bucket, no team could create separation, and it was just a slow-paced, ugly game. With no true scorer to threaten the Kings' defense outside of Flagg, they just continued to swarm him, and that left the Kings entering the fourth with an 81-74 lead.

Sacramento would open up a double-digit lead early in the fourth after a stepback transition three from Emanuel Sharp. Malik Monk, in particular, was really tearing the Mavericks up. His 21st point gave the Kings a 15-point lead four minutes into the fourth.

Walter Clayton Jr. started to get hot, and hit a three to cut the lead to 7, but Malik Monk and Darius Acuff Jr. kept finding answers on offense. The lead would never get back below 10, and the Mavs would suffer a brutal loss to the previously winless Sacramento Kings, 115-100.

Here are three overreactions from this bad loss.

The Mavericks Have to Upgrade From Max Christie

Max Christie has had a rough start to the season. Even his biggest strength, three-point shooting, just hasn't been falling early. That's a major issue for the Mavericks, as he offers limited upside as a ball-handler and defender.

He'd leave the game with a hip injury, but even before he left, it just wasn't a pretty picture. The Mavericks likely can't bank on him being anything more than a role player. Zaccharie Risacher and Caleb Martin have been better than him this season.

Mavericks Could Use Another Pure Scorer

I said this after the first game, but it really rang true in this game. When one (or both) of Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg isn't playing, there isn't anyone who can reliably create his own shot. Irving didn't play, and Flagg struggled, which left a lot on the shoulders of someone else to step up.

Daniel Gafford had a good game, but no one else looked comfortable trying to score. No one else threatens NBA defenses without the creation of Flagg and/or Irving. That's going to make it tough against better teams in the league when Irving is resting.

Cooper Flagg Just Has to Be Better

Cooper Flagg looked like one of the 10 best players in the NBA in the first week and a half of the season, but he wasn't good in this game. Part of it was a lack of scoring around him, and the Kings just kept double-teaming him, and part of it was him just not playing well.

Flagg is only 19 years old, and we forget that at times because of how great he already is. But he just has to be better than 3/19 from the floor with 6 turnovers.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.