'Streak Busters!': Red-Hot Mavs Rout Streaking Bulls, 113-99
The Dallas Mavericks came into Sunday night's contest playing their best basketball of the season and looking for a sixth-consecutive win against a Chicago Bulls team that had won nine-consecutive games of their own. The trend of high-quality play continued for the Mavs, as they ended the Bulls streak with a 113-99 blowout win.
Luka Doncic, who was back in the lineup tonight after a one-game absence, led the Mavs with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Doncic only shot 8-of-23 from the field in this one, but most of his misses came in the first half. He became the first player this NBA season to put up a stat line with at least those totals.
“We just realized we can be a good team still,” said Doncic after the game.
“We beat Golden State [and] Chicago, [and] they’re the top two teams. We can play with everybody. When we play together, we play good. … We’re playing great defense.”
The triple double was the 39th of Doncic's career, which is the most in NBA history for any player 23 years old or younger.
After scoring a career-high 17 points against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, Josh Green decided to one-up himself against Chicago, as he posted yet another career high with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Green also grabbed six rebounds for the Mavs in 22 minutes off the bench.
"(Green) works very religiously on his shooting and ball handling," said Mavs assistant coach Sean Sweeney, who is filling in as head coach while Jason Kidd is in the NBA's health and safety protocols. "Coach has put it on him to play as hard as he can."
Both Maxi Kleber and Jalen Brunson had themselves some good performances as well, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Kleber made six of his nine three-point attempts, and Brunson shot 8-of-10 while dishing out four assists.
All five Mavericks starters scored in double figures against the Bulls. It was truly a full team effort.
"The togetherness, combined with the effort, has been really strong here of late," said Sweeney. Sweeney also said that Kidd texted him during halftime to make sure the Mavs' established their transition play in the second half.
The Bulls' star duo of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan scored a combined 40 points on 16-of-37 shooting from the field. Given that DeRozan is the sixth-highest scorer in the NBA this season, it's a testament to the Mavs' newfound elite defense that they were able to contain him.
Coming into tonight's game, Dallas had been holding its opponents to just 99 points per game during the current win streak. That continued tonight, as the Mavs yet again held one of the best offensive teams in the league under 100 points. Dallas' defensive prowess has truly been a treat to watch develop this season.
Next up, the 22-18 Mavs take on the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Will Kristaps Porzingis make his return from the NBA's health and safety protocols to face his former team? Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for updates.
