Mavs defeat Rockets, 112-106, behind Doncic’s 50-piece

HOUSTON – Oh, what a special night Friday night was for Luka Doncic, so special that in a game played in the Space City, Doncic’s eye-popping performance was out of this world.

Not only did the Dallas Mavericks’ superstar point guard pour in a whopping 50 points during his team’s 112-106 triumph over the Houston Rockets, he also grabbed eight rebounds, distributed 10 assists and collected three steals as the Mavs improved to 17-16 entering Sunday’s Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doncic was absolutely sensational at Toy0ta Center as his 50-piece marked the second time in his career that he’s had at least 50 points in a game. It also was just one point shy of his career-high of 51 points during a Feb. 10 contest against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Doncic’s dominance was no big surprise to coach Jason Kidd, whose team finished this grueling eight-day trip with a 2-2 record.

“I think we see it every night,” Kidd said, referring to Doncic’s spectacular play. “Some nights it’s just not 50 (points). But he rose to the occasion again down the stretch, being able to control the game and being aggressive and making shots – big shots.

“Also, getting off the ball with the double-team and then the guys re-driving, understanding in that third quarter we learned a quick lesson. We came out and shot eight of the (first) 10 possessions, we shot threes, we didn’t move and we thought it was going to be easy. So the 50-piece that LD had tonight was a great Christmas gift on a long road trip. Now we got to get ready for the Lakers.”

Before getting ready for the Lakers, the Mavs had to settle a score with the Rockets, who defeated the Mavs in Dallas on Nov. 16, a game Doncic didn’t play in. This time with Doncic at the controls and doing a masterful job breaking down Houston’s defense, the Rockets weren’t able to pull off another upset.

Doncic put on one of the masterpieces for the ages as he joined James Harden, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook in becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to pick up at least 50 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in a game since steals were first recorded in the 1973-74 season. Doncic also joins Dirk Nowitzki (twice) as the only Mavs player to collect at least two 50-point games.

Against the Rockets, Doncic said the basket didn’t get particularly bigger the more shots he hoisted up.

“It’s the same,” he said. “Sometimes you’re going to make more shots than usual. You just feel hot and you feel like everything is going to go in.”

Doncic converted 17-of-30 shots, including six of his 12 three-point attempts. His three-point dagger which got him to 50 points occurred with 18.6 seconds remaining and padded the Mavs’ lead to a comfortable 111-106.

“I knew we had to get one more,” Doncic said. “We were up two, but if we hit that one it was pretty much game.”

On trying to guard Doncic, Jabari Smith Jr. said he was “just trying to make it tough on him. You’re not going to stop him, but just trying to slow him down, shove different bodies at him and just try to compete.”

Although they lost their fifth straight game to fall to 9-23, the Rockets did compete and made a game out of this after falling behind, 52-36, with 3:32 left before halftime following a pair of three-pointers each by Theo Pinson and Spencer Dinwiddie.

With the Mavs’ offense sputtering after that, the Rockets actually led, 88-84, with 9:55 to go in the game following a floater by TyTy Washington Jr. However, Doncic buried back-to-back bank shots, flung a cross-court pass to Davis Bertans for a three-pointer, and hurled a pass to Dinwiddie (11 points) for a triple.

Christian Wood followed with one of his four blocked shots, then Doncic reached way deep into his bag of extraordinary tricks and masterfully dribbled between his legs en route to barreling downhill to the basket for a layup and a 102-97 Mavs lead with 5:38 remaining.

“He was a plus 23,” Doncic said of Bertans, who scored 11 points. “He did a lot. His energy helps us a lot. His shooting is amazing, so he needs to keep shooting. He did a great job today.”

The shot from downtown by Bertans put the Mavs up for good at 97-94 with 7:18 left.

“Davis hit a big three down the stretch to help us when they were making their run,” Kidd said. “Again, LD is a great quarterback and we trust that he’s going to find a receiver, and he found Davis there in that left corner and he made a big shot for us to give us that lead.”

Meanwhile, Wood, who played the past two seasons for the Rockets before they traded him to the Mavs this summer, only scored eight points on 2-of-6 shots. But his defensive tenacity and rim protection was key for the Mavs.

“C-Wood was big for us defensively, and you can see when the offense wasn’t going for him tonight he focused on the defensive end,” Kidd said. “He had some big blocks again late in the game for us and then coming up with some rebounds.

“Not his normal offensive output, but his defense was high again for us tonight and that helped us win the game.”

Even the seldom-used McKinley Wright IV made his presence felt for the Mavs, who led, 61-50, at intermission. On one sequence in the third quarter he hustled down the court and saved the ball from going out of bounds to Doncic, and Frank Ntilikina eventually turned that into a bucket and a 76-75 lead for the Mavs. Wright also blocked a shot near the rim by Usman Garuba.

“It was a great team win when you look at what Wright did for us,” Kidd said. “(It was a) big play hustling to come back from the back tap and get a steal. I thought he played great.

“Theo knocked down two big threes. Our bench was really good tonight – our energy. We were connected on both ends, defense and offense, so it’s good to see.”

With his teammates shooting just 19-of-50, Doncic, who played the entire second half, could sense he would have to seize the moment.

“I think just keep making the right play,” he said. “Just keep trusting the play.

“They doubled me a couple of times, I passed the ball and then we made great shots out of it. Make or miss, I will do it again.”

It was textbook Doncic, who is one of the leading candidates to win this season’s Most Valuable Player award.

“This is what he does,” Kidd said. “When you look besides Luka, we didn’t have a really high percentage from the floor. But Luka sensed that and controlled the game.”

And when Doncic controls the game, the percentages are definitely in the Mavs’ favor. From the Rockets’ perspective he was the Grinch who stole their Christmas.

“There were a lot of plays that were made tonight by not just Luka, but by the rest of the guys that played,” Kidd said. “Luka is Luka. He’s the best player in the world and he showed that tonight carrying the load offensively. And again, when you make the right play in this game a lot of good things will happen. I don’t know what else to say about him. He was incredible tonight.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice