Mavs Blast Rockets with Luka Doncic Triple-Double, Christian Wood Block Party
Coming off a historic 60-point triple-double on Tuesday, many wondered what Luka Doncic's encore would look like on Thursday when the Dallas Mavericks (20-16) took on the Houston Rockets (10-25) for the third time this season.
It wasn't another 60-point outburst, but Doncic kept his momentum going, as he dropped 35 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists, one steal and two blocks as the Mavs blasted the Rockets, 129-114. It was Doncic's 54th career triple-double and league-leading eight this season.
Doncic was efficient yet again, as he finished shooting 11-21 from the field, including 4-9 from deep. He also shot 9-12 from free-throw line and was a +14 on the night. Over his last four games, Doncic has forced his way back to the top of the MVP race by averaging 44.3 points, 12.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists.
With the win, the Mavs now have a season-high five-game win streak. This is especially impressive given that Dallas has been without Josh Green, Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber for an extended period of time.
Christian Wood has been hosting a never-ending block party lately. After struggling with foul trouble in the first half, Wood rebounded well in the second half and finished with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks in 21 minutes as a starter. The Mavs are now 5-1 when Wood starts next to Doncic.
"That felt good," said Wood of recording a season-high in blocks against his former team. "Just making an emphasis, just trying to be that help-side guy. Just trying to protect the rim, and these guys are just trusting me to challenge shots. That's what we've been working on in practice – me being that low man."
With Wood being forced to the bench with foul trouble, Dwight Powell responded by posting his best game of the season. Powell finished with a season-high 19 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting from the field. He also recorded six rebounds to go with one assists, one steal and two blocks in 21 minutes.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Spencer Dinwiddie joined Doncic, Wood and Powell as the other two Mavericks to score in double-digits with 18 and 15 points respectively. Dinwiddie shot 6-8 from the field, including 3-5 from deep, and dished out six assists as well.
Next up, the Mavs will make the short trip to San Antonio to wrap up 2022 against the Spurs on New Year's Eve. Dallas will then start off 2023 by taking on the Rockets for the final time this season in Houston.
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