Luka Doncic returned from a history-making All-Star break, powering the Mavericks to a 115-104 win Wednesday night against the Spurs, in a form that’s become the norm during the 22-year-old’s Dallas tenure.
Check off another major milestone.
Doncic tallied 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his third against San Antonio in nine career games and the 33rd triple-double of his NBA career, tying Bob Cousy for 11th on the NBA/ABA’s all-time list.
After a slow start for the entire Mavericks’ unit, Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis showed strong rapport in the second half and ensured Dallas didn’t relent in the chemistry and confidence it built while winning nine of 11 games before the NBA’s midseason break.
Rather, the Mavericks gained some traction in the Western Conference playoff standings against the Southwest Division rival.
Doncic’s break was the least restful of any Maverick’s as he spent most of the weekend in Atlanta for his second consecutive All-Star Game. Coach Rick Carlisle, who’s been part of the showcase as an assistant and head coach before, recognized the value for his 22-year-old superstar.
“There are some things that are greater honors. I guess winning MVP would be one. Winning a championship would be another,” Carlisle said. “But All-Star, it’s one of those things as a youngster, you dream about that possibility. Where he grew up, I’m not even sure he dreamed of it.
“You’re in the presence of the very, very best in the game, and that’s something that you don’t forget.”
Though he didn’t appear eager to overexert himself while logging a Team LeBron-high 32 minutes on Sunday night, perhaps the extra outing sapped some of Doncic’s early burst when he resumed playing meaningful basketball on Wednesday.
Doncic logged a season-low six points in the first half, shooting 3 of 8 from the field. While his other statistics put him on pace for his first triple-double in a month, Doncic also committed five of Dallas’ 11 first-half turnovers.
But the Mavericks opened the third quarter on an 11-0 run to erase their 59-52 halftime deficit. They outscored the Spurs 63-45 in the second half.
Doncic tallied 11 points in the third quarter. Porzingis added 13 in the fourth and showed renewed physicality and rebounding prowess while making a personal 8-0 scoring run to cushion Dallas’ fourth-quarter lead.
Josh Richardson (12 points ), Maxi Kleber (11) and Willie Cauley-Stein (10) added to a balanced, methodical offense.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points (12 of 19 from the field) for Spurs, who’ve almost fully recovered from a mid-February COVID-19 outbreak.
Carlisle has tried not to pay much mind to the Mavericks’ upcoming schedule, but he knew what the game Wednesday night represented.
The seventh-place Spurs were the first of four teams ahead of Dallas in the Western Conference standings that the Mavericks will face in six games over the next 10 days.
After the second half of their back to back Thursday night in Oklahoma City, the Mavericks will travel to sixth-place Denver, host consecutive games against the fourth-place Clippers and play two in fifth-place Portland.
“We’ve made up some ground,” Carlisle said, “but it’s been a task. It’s not been easy.”
