The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Sacramento Kings 107-103 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Friday, extending their winning streak to six games and solidifying their position in the Western Conference in sixth place.

Having learned their lesson from the last loss to the Mavericks at home on Tuesday, the Kings showed their toughness on both ends of the game on Friday night, right from the first possession. Domantas Sabonis kept attacking Daniel Gafford off the dribble, getting six points and four assists in the first quarter.

Harrison Barnes and Keon Ellis made happy surprises for the Kings in the first period as well, both adding 11 points. Barnes made four of his five shots in the paint. Ellis knocked down three triples out of four attempts. Not only did the Kings maintain multiple active firepower sources, they also placed great defensive pressure on Luka Doncic by double-teaming him whenever he called for a screen, and no matter how high on the court, he did it.

Doncic, who was spotted several times holding his right knee in Friday's game, was slower than usual in penetration. He shot 1-for-3 from the field to get five points in the first quarter, but managed to deliver four assists. He, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II kept the Mavericks together offensively. P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Gafford didn't have much to contribute on this end of the game.

Having led by as many as 15 points (51-36) in the first half, the Kings failed to further expand it because their key firepower provider off the bench, Malik Monk, exited the competition early after Doncic accidentally fell on his knee. When the Kings slowed down in scoring, they gave the opponents a chance to rally.

The first move the Mavericks made was on the defensive end by double-teaming Sabonis in the low post. Though he had a triple-double that included 12 rebounds and 10 assists, he got no more than seven points after the first quarter and committed four turnovers. Without his role on their offense, the Kings shot 39 percent from the field in the final three quarters.

The second move the Mavericks made was to counterstrike through Doncic. He made good use of the defender's fear of his penetration to shoot more step-back 3-pointers, making four of his seven attempts from the second to the fourth quarters. Moreover, Doncic did more than knock down shots from downtown. He grew keener on seeking contact in penetration, earned 10 free throws in the three periods and made seven of them.

The third and sharpest counterstrike action the Mavericks took was Kyrie "Uncle Drew" Irving. He went 6-for-9 in field goals (FGs) to get 14 points in the first half. The camera caught him feeling a sudden pain in his knee in the third quarter, and he then went back to the locker room as Mavs fans broke into a cold sweat.

However, Irving came back soon with an explosive offensive performance in the fourth period. He made all four of his FG attempts as well as four of his five free throws to add 14 points for the Mavericks, enabling his side to outscore the Kings 34-21 in this quarter.

Having dropped 30 points in Friday's game, Irving reached 17,000 points in his career. He is the 103rd in NBA history, the 12th active player in today's league and the first of the 2011 draft class to do so, earlier than Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard and Jimmy Butler.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

New York Knicks 126-130 San Antonio Spurs

Spectators at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, witnessed history. Jalen Brunson shot 25-for-47 to score a career-high 61 points for the Knicks, and Victor Wembanyama dropped 40 points and 20 rebounds. It was the second time since the NBA was founded in 1946 for two players to get such astonishing numbers in one game after Elgin Baylor's 63 points against Wilt Chamberlain's 78 points and 43 rebounds in 1961.

The Knicks trailed by as many as 21 points (50-29) in the second period, but Brunson got 24 points in the third quarter alone to keep the game alive. He had the chance to beat the buzzer for his side in the final seconds of overtime, but his 3-pointer hit the back of the rim instead of falling into the net. Despite the loss, his performance on Friday night will be remembered as the second-highest single-game point in franchise history.

Houston Rockets 101-100 Utah Jazz

Neither the Rockets nor their young ace Jalen Green have shown any sign of cooling down in their hot pursuit of play-in tournament qualification, as the 22-year-old dropped 34 points at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday. He extended his 25+ point scoring streak to eight games and the team's winning streak to 11 games.

Green got 30 of his points in the second half, including 20 in the third period, and made four significant free throws in the final two minutes. The Rockets remain in 11th place in the Western Conference and are one game behind the Golden State Warriors after this victory.

Golden State Warriors 115-97 Charlotte Hornets

Los Angeles Lakers 90-109 Indiana Pacers

Los Angeles Clippers 100-97 Orlando Magic

Detroit Pistons 96-87 Washington Wizards

Chicago Bulls 108-125 Brooklyn Nets

Philadelphia 76ers 114-117 Cleveland Cavaliers

Portland Trail Blazers 82-142 Miami Heat

Phoenix Suns 103-128 Oklahoma City Thunder

Minnesota Timberwolves 111-98 Denver Nuggets