DALLAS — Luka Doncic shimmied.
Christian Wood pounded his chest.
Jason Kidd clapped his hands hard.
Who knew an early November 103-100 victory against the rebuilding Utah Jazz would elicit such emotion.
But double-digit deficits and close finishes have become custom for the Mavericks in the first three weeks of this NBA season, and their tenacity to fight through Wednesday served as cause for celebration.
Doncic finished with 33 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to make individual history while cheering teammates’ support throughout the fourth quarter.
Josh Green hit a corner 3-pointer with 7:48 remaining to give the Mavericks their first lead (86-84) since the first five minutes of the first quarter. Reggie Bullock capped the comeback with another corner 3 with 35.5 seconds remaining to avenge his regulation miss from the same spot last week in Brooklyn.
The Mavericks have won consecutive games — in clutch time, too — for the first time this season.
“He can do it in so many ways,” coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic. “It’s really cool to watch, and it just shows the focus that he has right now. He’s carrying the team and putting the team in position to win.”
Doncic became the third player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in each of the first seven games of his season, joining the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain (eight games in 1959-60 and 23 games in 1962-63) and the Cincinnati Royals’ Jack Twyman (seven games in 1959-60).
With flair, again.
While shooting 3 of 6 from 3, Doncic made a clear effort from midway through the second quarter on to pound the paint and punish the smaller Jazz defenders who drew his matchup.
He made 10 of 14 attempts inside the arc during his 35 minutes Wednesday, pushing possessions in transition for a handful of cross-court layup finishes. That included one to cap an 8-0 run late in the second quarter and tied the game at 47.
Doncic celebrated by dancing under the basket.
A short-lived shimmy.
He also struggled with turnovers (five), often in quick succession, and battled foul trouble with two in the first 6:35 of the first quarter and his third less than a minute after returning to play the second. Like the first round of the playoffs last year, the Jazz targeted him on defense early, trying to wear him down and exploit his slow reactions.
Good thing Doncic had the longest-tenured Maverick and a couple clutch supporters to help cover the lapses.
For a third consecutive game since re-entering the frontcourt rotation, Dwight Powell played as the Mavericks’ most consistent center. While individual net rating doesn’t always embody full-game impact, Powell’s plus-25 mark — 16 points higher than second-best Spencer Dinwiddie (plus-9) — did.
He had nine points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in 19 minutes and offered Kidd a reliable option off the bench as starting center JaVale McGee continued to struggle, particularly on defense, in his eight minutes.
A reporter asked Kidd after the contest whether he’d consider starting Powell, like last season, to feature his spark from the start.
“If I can start six, yeah,” Kidd quipped.
He elaborated to say the Mavericks might consider a change — but sixth-man center Christian Wood appeared to be another option while shining down the stretch Wednesday, too.
Wood added 21 points, including 17 in the second half, on 10-of-15 shooting, while guard Spencer Dinwiddie regenerated his crunch time effectiveness to score 10 in the fourth quarter.
Though shooting 11 of 38 (28.9%) from 3, the Mavericks outscored the Jazz 29-22 in the fourth quarter to earn their third win of the season in clutch time, what the NBA defines as games within five points in the final five minutes.
