This time, Luka Doncic’s super human performance wasn’t enough to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a victory.
Doncic scored 45 points Saturday night at American Airlines Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. However, it was the Clippers who were able to emerge victorious, 99-97, and snap the Mavs’ four-game winning streak.
“It wasn’t a pretty game, but they fought and we put ourselves into a position to tie or to win it,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We had a good look. We just didn’t make it.”
A long three-pointer by Doncic at the buzzer was unsuccessful, and the Mavs fell to 33-24 on the season.
“Luka was great,” Kidd said. “And then we had the ball to tie it or win it. That’s all you can ask for.
“We didn’t play well, but we found a way to put ourselves in a position to tie the game or win it.”
Here are our five takeaways.
DONCIC GOES WILD – AGAIN: One game after pouring in a career-high 51 points against the Clippers, Luka Doncic clocked them for 45 more points on Saturday. He also collected a season-high 15 rebounds and eight assists. It’s only the 11th time in NBA history that a player produced a 45-15-8 game. And it’s the first time this season anyone has punched the time clock for a 45-15 game. Doncic also is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain did it against Seattle in 1967 to score at least 96 points in 
consecutive games against the same opponent. Chamberlain tallied 47 and 53 points, respectively, in consecutive games against Seattle.
POINTS IN THE PAINT: The Clippers had way too many points in the paint, and they were getting them way too easily. The Clippers outscored the Mavs in the paint by a sizeable 54-38 margin. That’s too big of gap for any team to overcome — especially a team short of 7-footers – and the Mavs paid the price for not protecting the rim better. The Clippers were 27-of-41 from the floor inside the paint for a healthy 65.9 percent. The Mavs were 19-of-39 inside the paint for 48.7 percent. Basically, the Clippers scored just 45 points outside the paint on 16-of-41 shooting.
BRUNSON OFFERED SUPPORT: When a player like Luka Doncic goes off for 45 points, obviously he needs some assistance along the way to help balance what he’s accomplishing and also help put the team in better position to win the game. In this case, Doncic’s backcourt mate, Jalen Brunson, stepped up and tallied 22 points while turning in another solid performance. The four-year veteran was 8-of-17 from the field – 4-of-7 from downtown – and also added four rebounds and three assists. This was the fifth time in the last nine games that Brunson has scored at least 20 points.
FRANTIC FOURTH QUARTER: On Thursday night against the Clippers, it was the first quarter where Luka Doncic got the crowd all riled up when he rattled off 28 of the 36 points scored by the Mavs. On Saturday night, it was the fourth quarter where he got the crowd all riled up when he rattled off 23 of the 30 points scored by the Mavs. In the fourth quarter alone, Doncic was 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line. He was in the same zone he occupied during the first quarter on Thursday.
BULLOCK PICKING UP STEAM: Reggie Bullock has been on a personal tear lately. Counting the 17 points he scored Saturday night against the Clippers, Bullock now has scored 10-plus points in nine straight games. Prior to this streak, Bullock scored in double figures in just nine total games this entire season. The current streak for Bullock started with a 15-point outing on Jan. 26 against Portland – one game after Tim Hardaway Jr. fractured the fifth metatarsal of his left foot against the Golden State Warriors. Bullock was 6-of-12 from the floor Saturday, including 5-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc. He’s also averaging 17 points over the last nine games.
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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