Mavericks Cruise Past Trail Blazers 120-112
DALLAS (AP) -- Luka Doncic’s pursuit of Jason Kidd’s triple-double record in Dallas will have to wait. This night was about the 20-year-old sensation’s 3-point shooting.
Doncic drained a career-best eight 3s on his way to 35 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 29 and the Mavericks beat Portland 120-112 on Friday night to avoid getting swept at home by the Trail Blazers.
Doncic had eight rebounds and seven assists in the young Slovenian’s first chance to tie Kidd’s Dallas career record of 21 triple-doubles.
As long as the next one comes before Feb. 28, Doncic will have at least three times as many triple-doubles before age 21 as the next person on the list - Magic Johnson with seven.
‘’It’s crazy,’’ owner Mark Cuban said before the game. ‘’To give J-Kidd some credit, the game’s a lot faster now, there’s a lot more points being scored. So it’s all relative. What he’s accomplished is just phenomenal.’’
The 3 that topped Doncic’s previous career best of seven was a punctuating 27-footer for an 11-point lead in the final minute.
‘’We were locked in at the end of the game,’’ said Doncic, who was 8 of 12 from 3 to help the Mavericks finish 20 of 47 from beyond the arc compared to 9 of 30 for Portland, which was coming off an impressive win in Houston.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Carmelo Anthony had 22 for the Blazers, who lost guard CJ McCollum to a sprained left ankle in the first half. Hassan Whiteside had 21 points and 18 rebounds.
The Mavericks were without Doncic’s European sidekick, Kristaps Porzingis, for the 10th consecutive game because of right knee soreness. The 7-foot-3 Latvian was ruled out early in the day after being a late scratch Wednesday in Sacramento.
The Mavs kept Portland at a safe distance in the closing minutes after losing 121-119 in Dallas in October when the Blazers got a key reversal on a challenge of a foul call against Lillard in the final seconds.
Doncic drained a career-best eight 3s on his way to 35 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 29 and the Mavericks beat Portland 120-112 on Friday night to avoid getting swept at home by the Trail Blazers.
Doncic had eight rebounds and seven assists in the young Slovenian’s first chance to tie Kidd’s Dallas career record of 21 triple-doubles.
As long as the next one comes before Feb. 28, Doncic will have at least three times as many triple-doubles before age 21 as the next person on the list - Magic Johnson with seven.
‘’It’s crazy,’’ owner Mark Cuban said before the game. ‘’To give J-Kidd some credit, the game’s a lot faster now, there’s a lot more points being scored. So it’s all relative. What he’s accomplished is just phenomenal.’’
The 3 that topped Doncic’s previous career best of seven was a punctuating 27-footer for an 11-point lead in the final minute.
‘’We were locked in at the end of the game,’’ said Doncic, who was 8 of 12 from 3 to help the Mavericks finish 20 of 47 from beyond the arc compared to 9 of 30 for Portland, which was coming off an impressive win in Houston.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Carmelo Anthony had 22 for the Blazers, who lost guard CJ McCollum to a sprained left ankle in the first half. Hassan Whiteside had 21 points and 18 rebounds.
The Mavericks were without Doncic’s European sidekick, Kristaps Porzingis, for the 10th consecutive game because of right knee soreness. The 7-foot-3 Latvian was ruled out early in the day after being a late scratch Wednesday in Sacramento.
The Mavs kept Portland at a safe distance in the closing minutes after losing 121-119 in Dallas in October when the Blazers got a key reversal on a challenge of a foul call against Lillard in the final seconds.