NBA scores 2016: Deron Williams’ ‘1-in-100’ heroics torpedo Kings

Williams nailed a triple as the buzzer sounded that changed the fortunes of two teams in one moment.

Jan 6, 2016, 2:00 PM UTC

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS -- With 1:20 left and a seven-point deficit, Dallas' chances to win in double overtime against the Sacramento Kings had reached a critical point. The Mavericks missed a chance to win the game in regulation when they allowed DeMarcus Cousins to drive for a game-tying layup as the clock expired. Now, the odds were stacked against them enough that the players themselves were becoming realists.

"We knew if we got a couple of stops and hit a couple shots, which we did, we could be right there," Deron Williams said. "But it didn't look good when you thought about it."

But the Mavericks got a couple stops and they hit a couple shots -- first a layup from Williams, then a stepback three-pointer from Dirk Nowitzki, making it a 116-114 game. With a two-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock, Rick Carlisle made his gutsiest call of the night, choosing to run the clock down on defense instead of fouling. If Darren Collison's last-second jumper had hit the rim, the game would have likely been over, but it didn't, floating past the rim for a shot clock violation. With 2.3 seconds left, the stage was set for Williams' heroics.

SHUT IT DOWN!!! LET'S GOO HOME!!!!!! #DALvsSAC pic.twitter.com/LL4jYWXJFP
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) January 6, 2016

For the Mavericks, it was bedlam; the Kings, heartbreak. So many things broke right for Dallas in the final seconds, some directly the fault of Sacramento but a few completely out of its control. Competing with just nine active players thanks to a plethora of injuries, the Kings had three players who logged 47 minutes or more. For a win to be almost completely in their grasp before slipping away is exasperating.

That’s the hidden cost of games like this, which delight the impartial viewer but gnaw away at whichever team is saddled with a last-second loss. Dallas would have been just as sullen without Williams’ crazy pump-faking triple, entering the game off consecutive losses. Instead, it was the team dog-piling on the court as the arena celebrated around it while extending a home winning streak over Sacramento to 22 games.

“When you’re down seven with a minute 20 to go, you have to pitch a perfect game,” Rick Carlisle said afterwards. “The odds are 1-in-100 that you can actually do it.”

But a 1-in-100 comeback it was -- allowing the Mavericks to board a plane that night in high spirits instead of nursing their wounds after a third straight loss and leaving DeMarcus Cousins, who dropped 35 points and 17 rebounds in 49 minutes, to trudge silently through the American Airline Center corridors, limping ever so slightly, burdened with a miserable defeat.

3 other things from Tuesday

The Knicks are finding their path

When they beat the Hawks on Tuesday, the Knicks earned their 17th win -- the same total they had all of last season. This isn't some miraculous turn of fortune -- they're still two games under .500 and out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture for the moment, although the bottom seeds are still rather fluid. But it's progress, and that's all the Knicks were asking for when they began the year.

Porzingisanity has died off a bit, but there’s still an infatuation with just how good the 7’3, sweet-shooting big man can be. Even beyond him, the Knicks are just playing better, smarter basketball. It’s simple, winning stuff: Winning the rebounding battle, committing just nine turnovers, getting to the line 24 times and only missing two shots once when they were there. New York needs to keep improving, but things are no doubt trending up.

Chicago’s youth movement continues

With Joakim Noah missing time with a sprained left shoulder, Chicago has thrown first-round pick Bobby Portis into the rotation. With sophomore Nikola Mirotic already starting, the Bulls' youth movement is in full effect and a resolution to their logjam in the front court has to be coming soon. The trade deadline is next month, after all, and there's no room for five big men who all should be playing either power forward or center. While Portis didn't explode for 16 points on nine shots like last Friday, his eight-point, eight-rebound showing in 21 minutes Tuesday is exactly the steady, consistent performance Chicago wants to see from its first-round pick. Portis looks ready to join the rotation full-time. Now, all eyes are on the Bulls' front office.

Golden State isn’t out of the injury woods yet

The Warriors blew out the Lakers rather easily, surprising exactly no one as they improved to 33-2, but Stephen Curry left the game briefly in the first half and was eventually "ruled" out in the fourth quarter. While it's probably nothing, it's worth keeping an eye on.

Keep in mind the Warriors are up 30 in the 4th, but they say guard Stephen Curry (left lower leg) will not return to the Lakers game.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) January 6, 2016