Luka Doncic picked up where he left off, following his historic 60-point triple-double two nights earlier with a 35-point triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 129–114 on Thursday night at the American Airlines Center.
Doncic added 12 rebounds and 13 assists after recording the NBA’s first-ever game with 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists on Tuesday against the New York Knicks, giving him consecutive triple-doubles for the second time this season.
Combined, Doncic has posted 95 points, 34 rebounds, and 23 assists over his last two games, the most points in consecutive triple-doubles in the history of the NBA.
Doncic’s Thursday night triple-double is his NBA-leading eighth of the season. He clinched the triple-double with his 10th assist with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter, a pass to Christian Wood for a layup that gave Dallas an 85–65 advantage.
Wood, traded from Houston to Dallas last summer, had 21 points against his former team, hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers and notching four blocks, his eighth consecutive game with at least two blocks.
The Mavericks, who led by as many as 25 points, did not lean solely on Doncic. Dwight Powell added a season-high 19 points off the bench, going a perfect 8-for-8 on his shot attempts, and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18.
“I thought this was a great team win,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “We didn’t have to rely on Luka.”
WHAT TO KNOW
The win for the Mavericks is their season-best fifth consecutive. It was never in doubt, as Dallas (20–16) outscored Houston (10–25) by at least five points each quarter.
Doncic scored 14 points in the first quarter and went into the locker room for halftime standing comfortably on a triple-double pace with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
He became only the fourth player in the last 25 years (since 1996-97) to record three or more halves with at least 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, joining LeBron James, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.
His last three points before the break came on a tremendous individual effort.
Doncic drew a charge with 1.5 seconds remaining in the first half, then took the ensuing inbound pass and connected on a 35-foot three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give Dallas a 65–51 lead.
Dallas building a comfortable lead allowed Doncic some much-needed rest. In the Mavericks’ four wins before Thursday, Doncic rested just eight minutes and nine seconds of a combined 101 second-half minutes.
That included playing all but 12 seconds of the second half and overtime against the Knicks on Tuesday. On Thursday, he was able to rest for the last 10 minutes of the game.
Still, it was not all sunshine for Doncic. Late in the third quarter, he collided with Houston’s Usman Garuba, and the two tumbled to the court after a shot attempt.
The Mavericks’ superstar was left with a bright red scrape down his left cheek, and he let the officials know he thought a foul should have been called. It resulted in his eighth technical foul of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Mavericks pushed the pace for a season-best 25 fast-break points to the Rockets’ five. A couple of length-of-the-court “football” passes from Doncic to Powell and Davis Bertans were a big part of the fast-break explosion.
Wood had a quiet first half as he picked up his third foul with 7:44 remaining before halftime, sending him to the bench for the remainder of the first half with just three points.
He exploded in the third, earning 12 of his points (5-of-8 shooting) in the first 6:38 of the quarter.
Jalen Green led Houston with 23 points, Kevin Porter Jr. had 17, and Jabari Smith Jr. added 16. The loss is the Western Conference’s last-place team’s seventh in their previous eight games.
WHO SAID
Doncic (2,395) moved into ninth place on the Mavericks’ all-time assist leaderboard on Thursday, passing current Mavericks Assistant General Manager Michael Finley (2,393).
“Best day ever!” Doncic replied to a Twitter post by the team’s press relations account stating his accomplishment, adding two crying-laughing emojis and tagging Finley’s account.
Houston coach Stephen Silas was an assistant with the Mavericks during Doncic’s first two years in the league. He described what it is like to play against the 23-year-old Slovenian.
“It’s always been his passing that has been the thing that has really separated him from everybody else, but now he’s adding the scoring to the passing, which makes him just a nightmare to defend and prepare for,” said Silas.
FREE THROWS
Reggie Bullock missed the game with a non-COVID illness. That left the Mavericks without four of their best defenders, with Bullock joining Dorian Finney-Smith (right abductor strain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain), and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring surgery) on the sidelines.
NEXT UP
The Mavericks will go on an in-state road trip, first facing the Spurs in San Antonio on New Year’s Eve before a rematch with the Rockets in Houston on Monday.