DENVER — Despite a bout with the sniffles and not feeling well overall, Mavericks point guard Luka Dončić still showed
up Monday night at Ball Arena and did what he does best.
He showed out.
Again.
Dončić finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes during the 130-104 loss to the Denver Nuggets. In the process, Dončić has now scored at least 30 points in 11 straight games, which is a Mavs’ franchise record.
Obviously, Dončić has the respect of his peers and opposing coaches. Even before Monday’s game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was raving about the challenges he faces when attempting to design a defensive scheme to contain Dončić.
“No one player in this league can guard Luka,” Malone said. “It truly takes a team effort.
“And with all the pick-and-rolls, it takes the bigs just as much as the smalls.”
Be it a tall player trying to defend Dončić or a short player, he took on all comers Monday and wound up converting 13-of-24 field goals, including 6-
of-12 attempts from downtown. That also includes Dončić scoring a mesmerizing 22 points in the second quarter when he was 8-of-9 from the floor — and 6-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc.
That gives Dončić six games this season where he’s scored at least 25 points in one half. And that ties him for the most such games in the NBA this season.
“When you’re playing against a guy like Luka you have to have your base coverage, which is do what you do,” Malone said. “And then you have to have your adjustments ready.
“This team, probably more so than most, will identify the matchup they want, call him up at the pick-and-roll and let Luka try to do his thing. He is task with the responsibility of doing so much for that team and you want to make him have to work.”
While defenses are certainly making Dončić work, it is as if he can fall out of bed and come to the arena not feeling well, and still score at least 30 points. That’s the zone he’s in at this stage of his career.
Here are the three takeaways from the 26-point loss to the Nuggets.
NUGGETS WERE FAST BREAKING : When the opportunity presented itself, the Nuggets got out and ran the ball up the court at a breakneck pace. And then they got out and ran some more. In all, Denver outscored the Mavs in fast break points by a whopping 32-11 margin. The Nuggets were 13-of-15 from the field in attempts on the fast break, while the Mavs were 5-of-7.
THE MURRAY AND GORDON SHOW: On a night when Denver superstar center Nikola Jokic looked pedestrian-like, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon happily picked up the slack. While Jokic finished with just eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Murray scored 22 points and Gordon scored 21. Murray was 8-of-14 from the field – including 4-of-4 from three-point range, while Gordon was 7-of-9 from the field.
RESERVES LEFT THEIR MARK: While the defending NBA champion Nuggets has arguably the most potent starting five in the league, on Monday they showed that their bench isn’t too bad, either. With four players off the bench scoring at least 10 points, the Nuggets’ bench warmers outscored the Mavs’ reserves, 62-34. Denver was led off the bench by Reggie Jackson, who tallied 18 points in just 19 minutes.
X: @DwainPrice
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