Luka Doncic Ties Wilt Chamberlain in Mavs’ Thrilling Win Over Jazz
Despite Luka Doncic putting on an offensive clinic to start the season, the Dallas Mavericks entered their Wednesday night matchup against the Utah Jazz with a 3-3 record. Dallas hoped to string together consecutive wins for the first time. After surviving yet another slow start, the Mavs did just that at American Airlines Center, as they outlasted the Jazz in the second half and won the game, 103-100. Dallas improved to 4-3 while Utah dropped to 6-3.
Luka Doncic led the way with 33 points, five rebounds, 11 assists and two steals. He shot 12-20 from the field, including 2-6 from the 3-point line. It was Doncic's seventh consecutive 30+ point performance. He became the first player to accomplish that feat since Wilt Chamberlain did it in the 1962-63 season. It has only been accomplished four times overall: once by Jack Twyman (1958-60), twice by Chamberlain (1959-60, 1962-63) and now once by Doncic.
“I always hear Wilt Chamberlain,” said a grinning Doncic. “He is always there. It’s crazy. Obviously, I just want to play in the NBA. This is really a dream for me, and I couldn’t be happier to just play basketball and do my job. I am just happy to play basketball and when we win games it is even better.
“I just know that I had to start better than last year because the way I started last year wasn’t acceptable. So, I tried to learn from that and just be better than last year.”
Doncic got some major help from Christian Wood and Spencer Dinwiddie in the win. Wood finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds on 10-15 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench, and Dinwiddie pitched in with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals while shooting 4-11 from deep.
Despite falling down by double-digits on two separate occasions on Wednesday, the Mavs showcased their "resiliency," which has been a keyword for the team since training camp began. Dallas only shot 11-38 (28.9%) from deep as a team, but it shot 42-84 (50%) overall and outscored Utah 60-48 in the paint to make up for it.
Dwight Powell injected a lot of energy into the Mavs' bench lineups, as he finished with nine points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in 19 minutes. In that limited time, He was by far a team-high +25 in the boxscore plus/minus. After starting the season buried on the bench, it's been a nice surprise for Dallas that Powell has re-carved out his role with the team.
After struggling on defense for the last handful of games, the Mavs won it on the defensive end this time around by forcing 17 Utah turnovers. Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton led the Jazz with 22 and 19 points respectively.
Reggie Bullock, who went scoreless for most of the game, hit his first shot with just 35 seconds remaining – a huge corner 3-pointer to give the Mavs a 103-98 lead that essentially iced the game. Coach Jason Kidd credited his team's trust in Bullock to make that big shot despite him not shooting the ball well through seven games.
“It was big,” said Kidd of Bullock’s late shot. “It was a big trust, understanding we probably didn't shoot the ball extremely well from the three.
"It just shows the trust that his teammates and the coaches and everyone has in Reggie. We would say Reggie is not shooting the ball well right now, but that doesn't mean that he's not capable. Having him in not just for defense but believing he can make one of those shots … Doe [Dorian Finney-Smith] does it for us the other night, and Reggie does it tonight."
Next up, the Mavs play the fourth game of their current five-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. After that, Dallas will be off until Monday when it will complete the homestand against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the dysfunctional Brooklyn Nets.
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