DALLAS — Mavericks coach Jason Kidd delivered a clear message before Dallas’ 129-114 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night:
“We can’t wait on Luka.”
Sure, teammates and the staff relished celebrating Doncic’s 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist triple-double Tuesday night against the New York Knicks, dousing him with cold water bottles when he entered the postgame locker room, showering him with praise on social media and no doubt helping him locate a much-needed recovery beer.
But en route to their season-best fifth consecutive win, Kidd and the Mavericks most appreciated that two-way support around Doncic allowed the 23-year-old superstar to relax over the final eight minutes in American Airlines Center.
Doncic still starred with his NBA-leading eighth triple-double: 35 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists in 34 minutes. He’d like to note his two blocks and one steal, too.
But because Christian Wood (21 points and season-high four blocks), Dwight Powell (19 points on 8 of 8 shooting), Tim Hardaway Jr. (18 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points and six assists) joined in him balanced production, Doncic didn’t need to make overwhelming history again.
Just as Kidd wanted.
“When you witness or you’re a part of something like that, when you talk about history and what Luka did [Tuesday], you can easily come in tonight and grab that same seat that you had and watch,” Kidd said. “But someone else has to help step up, too, to carry the load. We can’t just rely on him. We can’t just wait … for him to do something special. There’s a responsibility in that locker room that the other guys have to do their part, too.”
In the Mavericks’ four wins before Thursday, Doncic rested just 8 minutes and nine seconds of a total 101 minutes after each halftime, combined.
That included playing all but 12 seconds of the second half and overtime against the Knicks and 24 straight minutes to close Dec. 23 against the Rockets.
The last time Doncic received a second-half breather longer than five minutes: when he received a double-technical foul ejection Dec. 19 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter in Minnesota.
Though he played through the first 16 minutes out of halftime Thursday, he might not need too strong a postgame drink this time.
Doncic compiled his NBA-leading eighth triple-double of the season just after the midpoint of the third quarter, in part, because teammates capitalized on his passes with consistency.
When the Mavericks pushed the pace in for a season-best 25 fast-break points, Powell often redirected lobs and long dimes for buckets around the rim, while Wood shined with 12 points (5 of 8 shooting) in the first 6:38 of the third quarter.
For good measure, Doncic also hit big buckets – including a 35-foot 3-pointer – in the final second of the second and third quarters.
The Mavericks played without their top four defenders — Reggie Bullock came down with a non-COVID illness, while Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain), Josh Green (right elbow sprain) and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring surgery) remain out with long-term injuries.
But Doncic’s biggest challenge came from Usman Garuba, Houston’s reserve forward who became the latest to stoke the 23-year-old’s ire.
At one point in the third quarter, Doncic hit a 3-pointer over Garuba and motioned the 6-8, 220-pound big man was too small to guard him. The two later collided and tumbled to the court after a Doncic shot attempt, leaving the Mavericks’ superstar with a bright red scrape down his left cheek and with his eighth technical foul of the season.
Perhaps Rockets coach Stephen Silas didn’t warn Garuba about how ruthless a competitor Doncic can be.
Silas, a former Dallas assistant who led the offense during Doncic’s first two seasons, watched in-person last week as Doncic unleashed his second career 50-point game to avert an upset loss in Houston.
Then he watched Doncic top that four days later.
During the Rockets’ postgame flight from Boston, assistant John Lucas II alerted him that “Luka has 40-whatever and they’re down” against the Knicks.
“So I put it on my phone,” Silas said, “and he was actually lining up to shoot the second free throw, and missed it and obviously CWood tipped it, and he put it back in.”
The Rockets’ staff then followed the Mavericks’ overtime period as Doncic added to his 53-point regulation triple-double to make franchise and NBA statistical history.
“It is amazing,” Silas said. “It’s always been his passing that’s been the thing that’s really kind of separated him from everybody else, but now he’s adding in the scoring to the passing, which makes him just a nightmare to defend and prepare for.”
Don’t expect Silas to sleep much the next few days.
The Mavericks and their do-it-all superstar will return to Houston for their head-to-head series finale Monday.
