DALLAS _ Luka Doncic showed why he might be the next big thing in the NBA and is the leading vote-getter in All-Star balloting. After a scoreless third quarter in which he sat with four fouls, the 20-year-old superstar took over with 15 fourth-quarter points to lead the Mavericks to a 123-111 victory over the Nets Thursday night at American Airlines Center.
The Nets actually held a one-point lead early in the final period before Doncic returned, but they simply couldn't contain him with the game on the line. It was a season-high fourth straight loss for the Nets (16-17).
The shorthanded Nets got balanced scoring and great production off the bench to keep it close into the final period, when they took a brief 96-95 lead on a three-pointer by Taurean Prince. But Doncic entered the game with 10:33 left to play and asserted himself with 13 points in an explosive 24-10 run to gain a 119-106 cushion with 3:18 left.
The Nets had seven players score in double figures, led by Spencer Dinwiddie's 19 and 14 off the bench from Dzanan Musa. Doncic totaled 31 for the Mavs (22-12) and added 13 rebounds and seven assists. The Mavericks got a tremendous boost off the bench from Seth Curry with 25 points and Maxi Kleber with 18.
Things only get tougher for the Nets, who face the defending champion Raptors Saturday night at Barclays Center.
Not only were the Nets without Caris LeVert for the 24th straight game and Kyrie Irving for the 22nd in a row, but Garrett Temple (right knee contusion), who has started at two-guard in place of LeVert, sat out the game.
"I don't think it's long term," coach Kenny Atkinson said of Temple's injury. "I think it's a short-term thing. He had some knee soreness, and collectively, we decided to use this game as a chance to rest it."
Down to 11 healthy players, Atkinson was asked before the game if he might plug one reserve into Temple's slot and try to avoid too many moving parts. But with the Nets trying to snap a three-game losing streak and offensive malaise, he went the other way.
"I think there's some games, especially when there's three in a row, that sometimes change isn't bad," Atkinson said. "Obviously, this is a difficult team matchup-wise. They can really spread you out and go small a ton. So we have to understand what the matchups look like. That's not always the primary focus of who's playing and who isn't, but tonight I think it's important we understand the matchups out there."
Sure enough, Atkinson slotted Rodions Kurucs into Temple's spot but then replaced center Jarrett Allen with the strength of bulky veteran DeAndre Jordan. The idea was to make it tough to get to the rim for Doncic. It worked at the outset of the game as the Nets jumped out to a 10-point lead at 13-3 after hitting a trio of three-pointers.
But the Mavs came back to take a 48-41 second-quarter lead thanks to strong play by their bench. The Nets responded with a 22-6 run, including five points from Allen and four each by Dinwiddie and Kurucs, to regain the lead at 63-53. By halftime, that was down to 65-60, and Doncic already had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The Nets ran into trouble when Dinwiddie picked up his fourth foul with 10:27 left in the third quarter, and the Mavs took advantage to gain a 79-73 lead. But Theo Pinson, who came off the bench for Dinwiddie, scored nine points in the quarter, including seven in an 18-8 surge to take a 91-87 lead. When the period ended, the game was tied at 93, and the Nets' bench had done its job.
