The Dallas Mavericks are now winners of three straight at home as they crushed the Golden State Warriors by 48 points, 142-94.
The Mavericks dominated the Warriors on Wednesday night behind G-F Luka Doncic’s 7th triple-double of the season.
Dallas now moves to 9-5 (5-3 home) on the season, extending their win streak to 3, and are 3-0 on the current home stand.
Doncic led all scorers with 35 points to go along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. According to Elias Sports Bureau, with Doncic reaching 300 Pts, 100 Reb, and 100 Ast over his last 10 games, it made him the 5th player in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double over any 10-game span.
The 20-year old superstar had his 35 point triple-double in just 25 1/2 minutes of play.
The guard becomes the first player in NBA history to record a 35 point triple-double in less than 25 minutes of play.
His incredible performance against the Warriors will only further MVP conversations as he continues to dazzle with his brilliant play.
Doncic on how he feels about being in the discussion for MVP said after the game,
“Well its special, you know its a lot of big names out there, I mean a lot of superstars, you know, it just makes me feel special.”
The Mavericks faced a depleted Warriors team without Draymond Green who sat out with a right heel injury. With no Green, the Warriors were no match for the Mavericks who were hitting on all cylinders, especially from the three-point line.
Dallas jumped out to an 8-0 run to start the game and led wire-to-wire led by Doncic who had 22 of his 35 points in the 1st quarter shooting 7-8 from the field and 5-6 from the three-point line.
The dominate first quarter was punctuated by a beautiful Doncic no-look pass to Dorian Finney-Smith for a thunderous dunk that put the Mavs up 30-11. The Mavericks had a 44-point first quarter en route to a 28 point lead after the first quarter.
Doncic outscored the Warriors by himself in the first quarter 22-16 and that set the tone for Wednesday night’s blowout victory, where at one point the Mavs led by 50 points.
According Elias, Doncic (20 years, 265 days), became the youngest player in NBA history to have consecutive 35-point triple-doubles, the previous youngest was Oscar Robertson (22 years, 34 days) 59 years ago.
Doncic got some help Wednesday night from G Tim Hardaway, Jr.
Hardaway, who was in the starting lineup for Seth Curry (illness), stepped up and poured in 24 points going a perfect 4-4 from the three-point line.
The former Michigan product had some extra incentive as his famous father Tim Hardaway, Sr. was in the building at the American Airlines Center to take in his son’s terrific performance.
Hardaway, Jr. on if his father’s presence inspired his performance said after the game,
“It had a little to do with that. Just happy he was here, a little father/son time to help me get through it.”
Hardaway, who Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has consistently praised for his consummate professionalism and being among the leaders in raw plus/minus, went an efficient 6-7 from the field with a plus/minus of plus-33 in 22 minutes.
The Mavericks also got a strong effort from Kristaps Porzingis with 14 points and 10 rebounds, although he struggled from the field going just 6-14.
While Porzingis continues to get in rhythm offensively, his effort and energy impacted the game in a myriad of other ways. Carlisle saying of Porzings’s performance after the game,
“Porzingis had a pretty good scoring night but he was really great on the boards and with rim protection…”
Dallas dominated in every conceivable way against a Warriors team that only played 8 players.
Warriors F Draymond Green was a late scratch prior to Wednesday night after giving it a go during warmups as the Warriors have been decimated by injuries all season and Wednesday night’s 48-point loss only added insult to injury.
Dallas continued their hot shooting from the three-point line during this home stand as the team shot nearly 58% (22-38) from distance Wednesday.
Doncic hit 6 three’s, while Tim Hardaway, Jr., Courtney Lee, Jalen Brunson, and Ryan Broekhoff went a combined 12-12 from the three-point line.
It was that kind of night for the Mavericks.
One of the best moments of the night came with 2:40 left in the 4th quarter when J.J. Barea (DNP – Coach’s Decision) pretended to sub in after Mavs fans started to chant his name as the team was up by 47.
The entire Mavs bench, including Doncic, got a hearty laugh out of the moment as the Mavs celebrated an absolutely dominate victory.
The Warriors are now a league worst 3-13 and suffered their worst loss since 1973.
Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 22 points.
The Mavs conclude their home stand on Friday night as they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to town.
Luka Doncic on if the Mavs have established what they have wanted to during this home stand after the game said,
“We’re 9-5 right now and we just have to keep going…”.
Well things are going great for the Mavericks right now as they look to extend their winning streak to 4 on Friday against the Cavs.
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Flip the pages to see clips of pre and post game of Luka, Steve Kerr, game highlights, and more.