Luka Doncic was white hot on Sunday night, finishing with 47 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 125-107.
Doncic scored 32 points in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting. He also had 22 points in the first quarter alone as Dallas ended Houston’s 11-game winning streak.
“We were aggressive,” Doncic said postgame. “They switched, so I think me and [Kyrie] went to work. Everybody else was open, so we were able to knock those shots down.”
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was glowing in his praise of Doncic after the game.
“When you talk about best player in the world, understanding the time and where we are in the schedule and this road trip, he came out and showed why he’s one of the best in the world,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “He set the tone offensively. … He put the ball in the basket, was able to read and play the defense we saw tonight. It’s up to him to do his job, and he did it at a high level tonight.”
Kidd also spoke about Doncic’s stunning underarm lob shot from just inside the three-point line.
“To see him do that, I feel a lot of people got excited, but I think at the same time, that’s Luka,” Kidd said. “He’s always able to make tough shots. He’s Picasso. Give him the paintbrush, he’s going to do something special. That shot was pretty special.”
The win lifts the fifth-placed Mavericks to 45-29, level with the sixth-placed Pelicans. They will return to action when they play the Warriors on Tuesday.
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