The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 114-108 on Thursday night behind a strong performance from Luka Doncic, who finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to become the second NBA player to post five straight 30-point triple-doubles.
Doncic equaled Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook’s record of five straight 30-point triple-doubles in 2017. In addition to leading the league in scoring, the All-Star made history by being the first player to ever record four straight 35-point triple-doubles.
But Dallas prevailed in this one, the first of those games. Three-game losing streak ended for the Mavericks.
Doncic remarked, “It’s great, especially when it comes with a win.”
In 40 minutes, Doncic made 12 of 24 shots overall and 7 of 13 3-pointers.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd stated, “I’ve always said we can’t take that young man for granted.” “What you’re witnessing is as uncommon as a Picasso.”
For Dallas, Kyrie Irving added 23 more points. Before a 10–4 surge that featured 3-pointers from Irving, Dante Exum, and Doncic, the Mavericks were behind 101–100.
Exum scored a three to start the run, just beating the shot clock. Doncic’s step-back, turnaround three also just missed the buzzer following a frenzied scurry for the ball. Terry Rozier’s long-range basket brought Miami within 106-104, and Irving followed through with his three after a missed Dallas jumper was tampered with by many players.
Doncic’s three-pointer with no shot clock remaining—everyone knew he was going to make it—was mentioned by Kidd. “But not everyone experiences that, though.”
When he released the ball, Doncic claimed to have seen the rim “a little bit.” “I knew it was going in once I let it go,” he remarked.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remarked, “I’ve seen that play a lot at the buzzer. That’s Doncic.” Irving also made a shot that landed in his hands wide open, bouncing off a rebound three yards and a cloud of dust. It kind of flipped and bobbled. And that just served to further distance them from one another.
Rozier had his most points in a game since joining Charlotte in late January, finishing with 27 points and 11 assists. In lieu of the injured Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson started for the sixth time in a row and finished with 19 points, 14 of which came from the first half, and 14 from Jimmy Butler.
The Heat, who entered the game averaging 12.4 points per game, were just 17 of 38 on 3-pointers, making 10 of those in the first half. Robinson and Rozier each had five of eight behind the arc.
Miami has won seven of eight games going in.
Butler tied the franchise record set by Rafer Alston in 2004 by extending his run of games with at least one steаl and one 3-pointer to 15, the longest run of his career.
Kevin Love, a reserve forward for Miami, missed his fourth consecutive game due to a heel ιnjury.
Josh Richardson, a Heat reserve guard, suffered a shoulder ιnjury on February 11 that will keep him out of action for the remainder of the campaign.