The Dallas Mavericks are still the reigning and defending Western Conference champions after taking care of business Wednesday night on the road against the Sacramento Kings.

The Mavs are moving on to the next phase of the NBA Play-in Tournament after dismantling the Kings via a score of 120-106 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, with Anthony Davis playing a pivotal role in Dallas' victory.

Davis flexed his muscles against the Kings. He led the Mavericks with 27 points and while he shot just 9-for-23 from the field, he was 3-for-6 from the 3-point area and knocked down all six tries from the free throw line.

Even when he was on the bench, Davis was winning a battle — a different one. Near the end of the contest, Davis was seen chirping back at some Kings fans, telling them to think about leaving the arena early amid the blowout nature of the game.

“Y'all might want to beat that traffic, though,” Davis could be heard saying to some fans behind the Mavericks' bench.

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Apart from Davis, another vet who stepped up and delivered the goods for Dallas was Klay Thompson, who capitalized on the golden opportunity to atone for his brutal performance in his final game with the Golden State Warriors in 2024.

It can be recalled that Thompson went 0-for-10 from the floor in Golden State's play-in loss to the Kings last year. Now with the Mavericks, Thompson torched Sacramento for 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including five 3-pointers. He anchored Dallas' menacing second-quarter salvo that essentially doomed the Kings, as he scored 16 of the Mavericks' 44 points in that period while his team limited Sacramento to just 19 points in the same frame.

But the job is far from done for Dallas.

Up next for Davis and the Mavericks is another do-or-die game, which will be against the Memphis Grizzlies. The winner of that matchup will earn the No. 8 seed in the West — and the rights to face the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder squad in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.