NEW ORLEANS _ Dennis Smith Jr. got his first triple-double as an NBA player Friday night.
"It's the first of many," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
Smith had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and while there is some uncertainty about whether his 10th rebound actually came to him or Dirk Nowitzki, for now, the triple-double stands, which makes him the youngest Maverick ever to record one, replacing Jason Kidd on that list.
"That's pretty good company," Smith said.
That it came in a 128-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans was a bonus for Smith and the Mavericks, who now have won three in a row for the first time this season.
"We won the game, so that's always a great thing," Smith said. "We didn't win it the way we wanted to. We didn't do it on the defensive end. But we won, so you can't argue with the result.
"It's a great feeling since we won. I almost had a quadruple _ I had a lot of turnovers (seven). But everybody believed in me through the mistakes."
The Mavericks led throughout and when the Pelicans got within three points late, J.J. Barea canned two 3-pointers to push the lead back to nine points.
The Mavericks had a record-smashing night from deep. The 22 3-pointers they made (on just 39 attempts) were a franchise record. The previous best was 19 3-pointers on several occasions.
But this was Smith's night.
"I like his attitude," Barea said of his fellow point guard. "I like when he gets mad. He fights, competes. I like the swag he has. That's going to take him far. He's got it inside. That's something I didn't know when he got here. He's showed me a little something."
