Doncic came up big in the Mavs’ victory with a 47-point and 12-rebound performance against one of the league’s hottest teams.
Doncic came up big in the Mavs’ victory with a 47-point and 12-rebound performance against one of the league’s hottest teams. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic smiles after making a basket against the Houston Rockets during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Houston.
HOUSTON – The electricity in the Toyota Center air was palpable for this Texas Tussle between the NBA’s hottest teams, but by midway through the first quarter, the raucous din had quieted to a collective murmur, punctuated by oohs and aahs. So dominant was Luka Doncic that he utterly controlled the game, stealing the show and the breath of awed Rockets fans. That merely was the start of a 47-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist Doncic onslaught as Dallas rolled to yet another pivotal victory, 125-107, on this Easter evening.The Mavericks have the league’s longest current win streak and Doncic has led them to a 4-0 start on this grueling five-game, 11-day trip with Playoff Luka-like dominance down the stretch of what he agrees has been his best season.“I think the most important thing is maturity,” he said. “I’ve been in this league for years now, so just understanding the game, learning the game and maturity. . . I think on both ends I’ve been better this season, so I’ve just got to keep going like that.”For Exhibit A of Doncic’s MVP-worthiness, voters need only watch highlights of this masterpiece, although his 73-point explosion in Atlanta certainly merits mention.Doncic virtually toyed with the Rockets in the opening quarter as Dallas sped to a 36-24 lead. Doncic accounted for 91.7% of his team’s points by scoring 22 on 8-of-11 shooting and with four assists that led to 11 points.“I think you talk about the best player in the world, understanding the time and where we are in the schedule and on this road trip, he came out and showed why he’s one of the best,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He set the tone offensively. You could hear his voice. And then finding his teammates.By halftime, Doncic had 32 points and Dallas’ lead was 67-45, but Doncic by no means was the only facet of the Mavericks’ dominance.Rockets guard Jalen Green entered the afternoon averaging 28.9 points in March, and with eight straight games of 25 or more points. Dallas, though, held Green to 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting, the latest in a string of limiting opposing stars’ outputs,Although the score was well in hand by halftime, Doncic wasn’t done wowing the crowd – well, everyone in Toyota Center, including his teammates and coaches. Just 1:17 into the third quarter, and with the shot clock running down, Doncic stopped at the 3-point line near the right wing, faked left,“I wasn’t surprised,” Doncic said. Then, sitting in the visiting team interview room, he made an underhanded motion with his right arm while saying, somehow with a straight face:Kyrie Irving, who had 24 points and seven assists Sunday, still holds the distinction of making the most improbable, and important, 21-footer of Dallas’ season, to beat Denver, shook his head and laughed when asked about Doncic’s shot.“Man, I was running back on defense, shaking my head,” he said. “That’s when you know you’re having fun with the game. He just had a great night. We’ve seen him hit some ridiculous shots before.” Challenging and successful though this trip has been, it’s not over. After Sunday’s game, the Mavericks had to fly to San Francisco – to within 75 miles of where they’d just come from, Sacramento – to play the Warriors on Tuesday in a makeup of January’s postponed meeting., as well as first place in the Southwest Division, but the Mavericks currently hold the tie-breaker edge over the Pelicans.Dallas and New Orleans split their season series, 2-2, but the next tie-breaker for teams that are in the same division is division record. The Mavericks are 10-5 in division play; the Pelicans are 9-6. Both teams have one division game remaining. The Mavericks would clinch the tie-breaker over New Orleans with a Pelicans loss to the Spurs on Friday; or a Dallas win over Houston in American Airlines Center next Sunday. If the teams finish with the same division record, the next tie-breaker would be conference record. Dallas is 29-19 against the West; the Pelicans are 26-19. “We’ve got to stay hungry and consistent,” Kidd said. “As a team this time of year you’re fighting to play your best basketball. We don’t want to sit and feel like we’ve accomplished anything because we haven’t.”, Sports enterprise reporter, Mavericks and NBA. Dallas Morning News sports reporter since 1993. Prior to that he worked at The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Light. Eight-time APSE award winner; 2016 National Headliner Award; 2018 Celeste Williams Texas Sportswriter of the Year; 2021 NSMA Texas Sportswriter of the Year.
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