The Dallas Mavericks took down the Utah Jazz 106-94 on Saturday. The team has won three straight games and five out of six games this season without star guard Luka Doncic.
The Mavericks’ victory over the Jazz was led by guard Kyrie Irving, who contributed 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists while shooting an incredible 6/13 from behind the three-point line.
Forward PJ Washington and guard Quentin Grimes also heavily impacted the game on offense and defense, combining for 40 points and 14 rebounds.
Dallas expects Doncic to return in the coming games from a wrist strain he suffered against the New Orleans Pelicans on November 19. However, he has missed five straight games due to this injury.
Dallas has performed impressively during the six games without Doncic to begin this season, putting together a record of 5-1 against solid opponents.
This record is a noticeable improvement from the Mavericks’ last season, in which the team finished with an overall record of only 4-8 during the 12 games without Doncic.
The Mavericks’ winning streak can also be attributed to players providing major contributions, with forward PJ Washington stepping into a more prominent role during this stretch.
Washington has managed to average 17.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists during the five-game stretch without Doncic, including five straight double-doubles through points and rebounds.
Forward Naji Marshall has also taken the initiative without Doncic on the court by averaging 19 points while shooting 60% from the field during the last five games.
Head Coach Jason Kidd also credited Irving with a large portion of the Mavericks’ success, noting that Irving has learned to control the flow of games throughout his career.
“The way he goes about the game, understanding when it’s time to go and when it’s time for others to go — he does a really good job of pushing the others to score,” Kidd said, per Mavs.com.
“We got some stops and that led to our pace where we could get out and run. I thought Kai did a good job of pushing and getting us some easy ones at the rim.”
Dallas will now look to continue its win streak against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, December 1 at 6 p.m.