Anthony Davis recorded 27 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and the Dallas Mavericks kept their playoff bid alive with a convincing 120-106 victory over the host Sacramento Kings in a Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night.

Klay Thompson scored 23 points, P.J. Washington had 17 points and nine boards and Brandon Williams added 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who will visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night in the final West play-in contest. The winner earns the No. 8 seed and will face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

DeMar DeRozan registered 33 points and seven rebounds and Zach LaVine added 20 points and nine assists for Sacramento, which was eliminated with the Wednesday setback. Domantas Sabonis added 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for the Kings.

The contest marked just the 10th time Davis had played for Dallas since being acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Luka Doncic deal. Most recently, Davis has been dealing with an adductor injury.

“There’s no give in this group,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “No matter who’s playing, they always believe that they got the right information to compete at a high level, and you saw that on a nightly basis, no matter if we’re starting two two-ways or we have our healthy group.

“They supported each other. Everyone in that locker room had each other’s back. It was a fun group to coach, and we still have a long ways to go.”

Thompson made 8 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc, in a superior showing compared with what he experienced in the play-in round last season against Sacramento.

On that occasion, Thompson missed all 10 shots and went scoreless in 32 minutes for the Warriors in a 118-94 loss. It was his final game with Golden State.

He said of his Wednesday effort, “It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here.”

Dante Exum put up 11 points for Dallas, which shot 49.4 percent from the field and connected on 14 of 28 from 3-point range.

The Kings committed 18 turnovers, made 46.1 percent of their field-goal attempts and were 13 of 33 (39.4 percent) from behind the arc. Devin Carter scored 10 points off the bench.

Sacramento trailed by 23 points at halftime and never put up a legitimate fight the rest of the way. When Davis hit back-to-back baskets to make it 107-85 just before the midway point of the fourth quarter, it was apparent the Mavericks were on their way to staying alive.

Thompson scored 16 points in the second quarter on perfect shooting — including four treys in a three-minute span — as Dallas erupted for 44 points en route to a 71-48 halftime lead.

“I know I didn’t end my season last year so well in the same building,” Thompson said. “I knew once I saw one go in and had my feet under me, I was going to let it go until I missed. Luckily for me, I don’t miss that quarter and I think it helped us separate and hold that lead obviously for the rest of the night.”

DeRozan had 13 points in the half for the Kings, who committed 12 turnovers before the break compared to just three for the Mavericks.

“You just can’t throw the ball around the gym, man,” Kings interim coach Doug Christie said. “All of a sudden, we just lost our mind.”

The game was tied at 29 before Dallas exploded with a 24-10 burst to open up a 14-point lead. All four of Thompson’s treys came during the burst.

Davis hit consecutive 3-pointers for the final points of the half.

After Davis drained another trey to make it 80-54 with 8:31 left in the third quarter, the Kings rattled off 10 straight points. However, Dallas took a comfortable 99-81 advantage into the final stanza.

Failing to make the playoffs was a massive blow to DeRozan, a 35-year-old veteran who joined the Kings prior to this season with thoughts of a deep playoff run.

Then coach Mike Brown was fired 31 games into the season and tension was rampant around unhappy De’Aaron Fox, who was eventually traded to the San Antonio Spurs.

“It’s tough. It’s frustrating,” DeRozan said. “You don’t want to go out that way. … It’s probably the most I’ve been through in my 16-year career. The season we had was a lot. It’s too hard to fathom right now.

“You only have so many years. That window closes quick. That’s 16 seasons down. When you think about it from that perspective, it’s tough. You don’t want to waste opportunities either.”

–Field Level Media