Luka Doncic, Josh Green and the Mavericks rewarded all fans who stayed up long past typical home-game time Monday night.
Dallas beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 in the fifth consecutive matchup between the teams decided by four points or fewer.
Doncic (36 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes) extended his streak of scoring at least 30 points per game to nine, the most in NBA history to start a season since Wilt Chamberlain (23) in 1962-63, while Green tallied 16 points on 5 of 5 from the field to continue the most promising and productive stretch in two-plus NBA seasons.
But the loudest cheers in American Airlines Center might’ve been for Kevin Durant.
After the Mavericks’ 11-point lead in the last four minutes was whittled to one possession, Dorian Finney-Smith swiped at Durant on a 3-point attempt with 5.6 seconds remaining and scorekeepers docked Reggie Bullock for the foul, jeopardizing the Mavericks’ 3-point lead.
But the Nets’ superstar missed his second attempt from the line and intentionally clanged the third for a final chance at a game-tying bucket.
Dwight Powell came up with the steal with 1.7 seconds left to seal the Mavericks’ latest fourth-quarter slide-turned thriller.
Late-night euphoria.
In a game that tipped after 8:45 p.m. because of the NBA’s full-league, staggered-starts, pre-Election Day promotion, the Mavericks completed their first season sweep of a single opponent and extended their winning streak to four games entering a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back in Orlando and Washington, D.C.
“Damn 10, you’re trying to give the game away,” Finney-Smith thought as Durant walked to the line having made his last 61 free-throw attempts. “I thought he was going to make all three, to be honest. I thought: ‘Get the ball to LD, he’ll make one of those (game-winning) shots, and if not, we’re going to get it going in overtime.”
Turned out to be a smart foul after Durant’s miss.
“You know,” Finney-Smith said with a smile, “just like we drew it up.”
The Nets on Monday looked little like the Nets whom the Mavericks beat by four in overtime Oct. 27 in Brooklyn.
Since then:
•The Nets have parted ways with head coach and former Maverick Steve Nash on Nov. 1 amid a 2-5 start, prompting Mavericks coach Jason Kidd to publicly support friend and former teammate Nash’s credentials after a tumultuous two-plus seasons in Brooklyn.
•All-star guard Kyrie Irving came under fire for promoting an antisemitic documentary — and failing to apologize or disavow the film in multiple press conferences afterward — and the Nets suspended him at least five games.
•Embattled third star Ben Simmons missed four consecutive games with left knee soreness before facing Dallas on Monday with a 20-minute limit.
In that same span, the Mavericks won three of four contests to counter their early season struggles in clutch time and Doncic dazzled while joining Chamberlain as the only NBA player to score at least 30 points in each of his first eight games of a season.
He made it nine Monday while shooting 11 of 22, including 5 of 9 from 3.
Ho hum.
“We know that can either be a positive or negative,” Dorian Finney-Smith said of the Nets’ turmoil and consecutive wins after Irving’s suspension. “They can come together with something like this, or it can break the team apart.”
Finney-Smith’s first theory appeared more likely in the opening minutes Monday.
Coach Jason Kidd revealed about two hours before tipoff that JaVale McGee would return as starting center, one game after Dwight Powell took his spot in the top five.
Why?
“So you guys can ask that question every game,” Kidd quipped.
Actually: “Just matchups.”
In Powell’s start Friday against the Raptors, the Mavericks snapped their streak of four consecutive losing first quarters.
In McGee’s opening three minutes and 25 seconds Wednesday before Christian Wood subbed in, the Mavericks trailed 7-2 and allowed three offensive rebounds in the Nets’ first two possessions.
But McGee wasn’t the only scapegoat for another first-quarter deficit (34-29).
Kidd called timeout twice in the first eight minutes as Brooklyn opened a 25-11 run with role players around Durant capitalized on extra space from the Mavericks’ superstar double teams.
But that didn’t last.
Irving scored 39 of the Nets’ 125 points in the Oct. 27 matchup — the most Dallas has allowed to a single player or team this season — so after Brooklyn’s supporters slowed offensively, Dallas regained control.
The Mavericks outscored the Nets 24-16 in the second quarter to take a 53-50 lead at halftime, and 6-foot-4 guard David Duke Jr. became the latest opponent to be deemed “too small” by the 6-foot-7 Doncic, who has thrived at backing down any and everyone in the post this season.
Then the Mavericks answered a sloppy third quarter — which included nine turnovers, including three via offensive fouls, and Tim Hardaway Jr.’s exit with a left hip strain — to pull away for good.
Green slammed his second high-flying dunk of the game with 7:04 remaining to restore the Mavericks’ lead (79-78) and finished the next offensive possession with a second-chance 3-pointer from the top of the arc to cushion what became an 18-7 run.
A 9-0 Nets push into the final minute forced Dallas to rely on free throws to pad its latest clutch victory.
As the Mavericks staved off the Nets’ late threat, the bench supported the closing lineup of Doncic/Green/Finney-Smith/Maxi Kleber/Powell with extra defense against Durant.
Theo Pinson — notorious for his fine-prompting, rule-creating antics on the sideline — chirped at Durant on multiple offensive possessions to the point Durant clapped and yelled back. Moments later, Durant fouled Green and drew a technical for his retaliation.
Call it a full-team effort to finish this five-game homestand at 4-1.
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