DETROIT – Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was not surprised at the high level of performance from his star man Luka Doncic, who grabbed a slice of National Basketball Association (NBA) history on March 9.
The Slovenian guard became the first player to post six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles as the Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124 on the road.
Doncic scored 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, eclipsing Russell Westbrook’s mark of five straight 30-point triple-doubles set in the 2016-17 season.
He also extended his own NBA record with a fifth straight triple-double featuring 35 or more points, adding three steals and a pair of blocked shots for good measure.
“That just shows where he’s playing at right now,” said Kidd, who has called Doncic’s run of form “as rare as Picasso”.
“(It’s) the level that he’s at, to be able to score and also to be able to find his teammates and then, lastly, being able to rebound the ball for us to help us on the defensive end.”
Doncic scored 26 points in a back-and-forth first half. That included 21 in the second quarter, when he appeared to be galvanised by chants of “Luka sucks” from Pistons fans.
“Well, we know he doesn’t suck,” Kidd added. “I think we know he enjoys when people talk to him. If that’s what sparked him, we would like for that to happen a lot more.”
Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, who pushed their lead to 15 points in the third quarter and opened the fourth on a 7-0 scoring run.
Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Pistons.
But it was another night of frustration for Detroit and it boiled over in the fourth quarter when Jalen Duren was ejected for a hard shove on P.J. Washington.
Washington had nudged Duren aside to help up teammate Daniel Gafford after Duren had fouled him.
Elsewhere, the league-leading Boston Celtics avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season with a 117-107 victory over Kevin Durant and the Suns in Phoenix.
Jayson Tatum shook off a slow start to score 29 points and grab 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 27 points for Boston, who were coming off losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and reigning NBA champions the Denver Nuggets.
Durant scored 45 points and Bradley Beal added 25 but the Suns, who were without injured All-Star Devin Booker, trailed for most of the night.
While Boston’s two-game skid was not long by NBA standards, it brought plenty of scrutiny for the Eastern Conference leaders, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he was pleased to see how his players handled it.
“I think the most important thing was to handle the losses the way we handled the wins,” he said. “The guys show great maturity and a great mindset and a great approach to the process when we’re winning.
“You just have to maintain that through the losses. That’s really important to just keep that balance and the guys have done a good job of that.”
In San Francisco, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 126-113 in a battle of injury-depleted teams.
With star rookie Victor Wembanyama sidelined with an ankle injury, Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Klay Thompson came off the bench and scored 27 points for the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry because of a right ankle injury.
The Warriors did get some good news, as an MRI scan showed no structural damage in Curry’s ankle, which he hurt in the loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 7.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, routed the Utah Jazz 142-121 in Denver, where Jamal Murray scored 37 points and Nikola Jokic added 26.
In Los Angeles, the Clippers recorded their second straight win after a 112-102 home triumph over the Bulls. AFP
