Both the Kings and Mavericks entered Monday night’s game in Sacramento losing three of their last four. In the end, it was the Kings and their defense that proved they wanted it more in a 112-98 win.

The Kings have struggled with slow starts this season, and they got off to another one Monday night against the Mavericks. At one point in time, the Mavericks had a 14-point lead early in the second quarter.

The offensive savvy Rick Carlisle led Mavericks team was evident early on. His players were constantly moving, screening, making the extra pass, and eventually getting open looks.

The Kings would receive a much-needed spark off the bench when Seth Curry entered the game trailing 36-26.

“I thought he was big for us, he gave us that spark, we fed off of him and the crowd as well,” Darren Collison said about Curry. “It was good for us.”

Curry would hit two 3-pointers to reduce the Kings’ deficit to a single point. He would also add two free throws while playing admirable defense on a night where the other Kings guards struggled to defend.

“It’s kind of what I’ve been waiting on, an opportunity to play some meaningful minutes, try to give us a little energy boost,” said a confident Curry.

At the half, the Kings were only down 58-54.

In the third quarter, Rudy Gay came out noticeably aggressive as he hit a 3-pointer before getting to the free throw line on successive possessions. Gay would score seven of this 20 points in the third.

It was a quarter where the Kings clamped down on defense with drastically improved on-ball pressure.

The Mavericks were held to only 13 points in the quarter and forced into eight turnovers. The Kings only committed one.

The efforts would yield a 76-71 lead for the Kings going into the concluding quarter.

In the fourth quarter, DeMarcus Cousins would carry the Kings by scoring 16 points in the quarter as part of a 31-point night. He also added nine rebounds. It was a great night considering he was returning from a three-game absence due to a lower back strain.

“He’s a beast. He’s one of the best bigs in the league and it’s not one man’s job to stop him. It’s our whole team to try and contain him,” Chandler Parsons said. “We tried different looks on him. We tried doubling him. We tried doubling off Rondo. Tried rotating, we just tried just about everything. He’s a great player.”

Even though Rajon Rondo would go only 7-of-14 from the free throw line, he had yet another dominant performance orchestrating the team’s offense as he scored 21 points while adding five assists.

In the end, it was the defense that won the game and it gave glimpse of what this team could be if they were to make a commitment on that side of the ball.

The Kings play next Thursday night against the Celtics in Mexico City at 7:00PM PST.

Is Seth Curry ready for consistent minutes?

“It’s extremely hard, I don’t know how he does it, Collison said about Curry staying ready for his opportunity. “I don’t know how he just sits pretty much the whole game and comes in and pretty much starts hitting threes. He just has a knack.”