Doncic’s performance heads the takeaways from win over Pelicans

As they went into the All-Star break with a 35-24 record, Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd all but said he’s running out of superlatives to describe just how forceful Luka Doncic is while lighting up defenses game after game after game.

The New Orleans Pelicans took their turn at trying to slow down Doncic on Thursday night. And what the Pelicans did didn’t work.

Doncic finished with 49 points – two shy of his career high – as the Mavs took down the Pelicans, 125-118. And, including what he did the previous four games, Doncic has scored a franchise record 199 points over the past five games.

“What he’s doing right now is unbelievable,” forward Maxi Kleber said. “He’s just gifted, and as a teammate it’s fun to watch.”

Here are our five takeaways from the seven-point win over the Pelicans.

ANOTHER GEMSTONE BY LUKA: Luka Doncic continues to prove why he should be right smack in the thick of this season’s Most Valuable Player conversation. Thursday night in New Orleans, Doncic poured in 49 points, snatched 15 rebounds and distributed eight assists. It was his fourth 40-point game over the last eight games and his third over the last four games. Doncic joined Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Walt Bellamy as the only players to ever produce a 45-point, 15-rebound, five-assist game in the same month, and he’s the first to perform this amazing feat since Chamberlain did it in January of 1966. Doncic had 45 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists last Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers, two days after he tallied a career-high 51 points against the Clippers. Doncic scored 19 points in the first quarter Thursday, and 20 more in the third quarter. In other words, he has been in beast mode for quite some time. And when he goes there, defenders are absolutely helpless.

BRUNSON’S NO. 2: Not long after the Mavs traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Washington Wizards last week, the critics were out in full force wondering when, how and where will the Mavs acquire a new No. 2 player to play alongside Luka Doncic. Look around. That player may already be on the Mavs’ roster. His name is Jalen Brunson. Remember him? All Brunson did against the Pelicans was score 23 points and hand out six assists. He also was 8-of-13 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown. In addition, when the Mavs busted out to a 24-16 lead with 5:13 remaining in the first quarter, 10 of those points were scored by Brunson. This was the 14^th game this season where Brunson has scored 20 or more points after he did the same thing just 17 times in his previous three seasons when he primarily came off the bench. Y’all do know Brunson led Villanova to two national titles in a three-year span, and he was the best player in college basketball in 2018. So he knows a thing or two about being in the No. 1 seat. Thus, sitting in the No. 2 spot should be a breeze for him.

KLEBER FINDING HIS GROOVE: If Maxi Kleber continues to play the way he has over the past two games, the Mavs will be looking at a deep run in this year’s playoffs. Against the Pelicans, Kleber was 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and wound up collecting a season-high 20 points in just 26 minutes off the bench. This was the fourth career game in which Kleber has scored at least 20 points. Also, the Mavs are a perfect 5-0 this season when he tallies at least 15 points. Thursday’s performance by Kleber came one game after he poured in his previous season-high of 19 points during this past Tuesday’s game against the Miami Heat. In that contest, Kleber was 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-8 from downtown. If teams decide Kleber is the player they’re going to leave open on the perimeter, he has to continue doing what he did the past two games — make them pay.

POINTS ON THE PERIMETER: I never understand why there is a points in the paint category, but there isn’t a points on the perimeter category. I get it that the paint is closer to the basket than the perimeter. But that doesn’t necessarily mean if you win the points in the paint game, you’re going to win the game. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. The Pelicans outscored the Mavs in the paint, 54-46. The Mavs outscored the Pelicans on the perimeter, 79-64. Consequently, because the Mavs played to their strength and won the points on the perimeter game, they won the game. Case closed. If your strength is on the perimeter, keep going to your strength and hopefully that’ll work out for you. In this case, the Mavs’ strength is on the perimeter. And in this game that worked out well for them.

FINNEY-SMITH PAYING IMMEDIATE DIVIDENDS: It’s games last the one against the Pelicans is why the Mavs awarded Dorian Finney-Smith a four-year, $55.5 million contract extension earlier this week. Finney-Smith is just rock solid, especially now that he’s got a very reliable three-point game he can turn to that’ll match the awesome job he does on the defensive end of the floor. It may have gotten lost in the shuffle of Luka Doncic’s 49-point night. But when the Pelicans were driving to slice what was a 24-point deficit down to four or five points, it was Finney-Smith who picked CJ McCollum’s pocket, then dashed the other way for a layup that put the Mavs ahead, 122-113, with 2:52 remaining in the game. Such a heady play won’t garner any headlines. However, such a heady play often makes the difference between winning and losing. Finney-Smith finished the game with 14 points and a game high three steals. He was 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line.

Twitter: @DwainPrice