The last time the Orlando Magic won at American Airlines Center, the Mavericks were on their way to the NBA championship.
It was Jan. 8, 2011, and Jason Kidd has gone from point guard to coach since then.
So it’s been the equivalent of an NBA generation that the Mavericks have dominated Orlando and the streak continued Sunday night as they took charge early and strolled to a 108-85 victory over the shorthanded and road-weary Magic, who are on a five-game trip and playing without their best player, all-star Paolo Banchero.
None of that mattered to the Mavericks, who improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 on this five-game home stand that continues Monday against Indiana.
Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 32 points, but barely needed to budge the box score after halftime. He also had nine rebounds and seven assists. He and Kyrie Irving (17 points) got lengthy rests in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks led 88-61 after three frames. Daniel Gafford had a season-best 18 points to support Irving and Dončić. Lively had matching 11 points and 11 rebounds.
In other words, the Mavericks could not have taken care of business any better on Sunday than they did.
Kidd credited Dončić for getting the team’s mind right.
“I thought his energy was great,” Kidd said. “As our leader, he set the tone right off the bat and I thought the guys followed. Our bench was really, really good. We won a first quarter. It’s been awhile.
“Luka came out and he’s normally dominated the first in the past and I thought tonight was the first time he really dominated on both ends, offense and defense.”
It was the first time this season that Dončić played the entire first quarter, which was the plan “if he was scoring,” Kidd said with a smile.
And the dominance was thorough for the Mavericks.
When Irving and Quentin Grimes started the second quarter with three-pointers, the Mavericks had turned an early seven-point deficit into a 36-22 lead.
And the rout was on. Before the Magic knew it, the Mavericks’ lead was 55-28.
It was an important win for the Mavericks to ensure that the 108-102 loss to Houston on Thursday did not fester into a losing streak.
Dončić was superb in the first half, knocking in 9-of-15 shots, including 5-of-10 from three-point land and rolling up 25 points. It’s the 30th time in his career he has had at least 25 points in a half, tied for the most in the NBA since he came into the league in 2018-19 (James Harden also has 30).
It must be something about the Magic and their coach, former Mavericks’ assistant Jamahl Mosley, that bring out the best in Luka. Last season in the meeting at AAC, he had 45 points in a 131-129 Mavericks’ win.
“I just needed to have a good game for me, just trying to get out there and have fun,” Luka said when asked what it is about Orlando that lights a fire under him. “Playing at home is always fun with the fans. Just wanted to give them something.”
So what was the key to get his offense looking smoother?
“Just be myself,” Dončić said. “Play basketball, have fun out there. Today was real fun. We were defending, rebounding and played with a lot of pace. That’s fun for me.”
The defense was impressive. Orlando shot just 33.3 percent and was only 8-of-41 (19.5 percent) from three-point range. The Mavericks also had their best rebounding game of the season, winning the glass 53-43.
And they got some important contributions from outside the normal sources. Naji Marshall had not made a lot of noise in the first five games, but he had five assists in the first half on Sunday. Two of those came on lob passes to Daniel Gafford, who took advantage of the smallish Magic with 12 first-half points, when the Mavericks effectively stashed the game away. Those lobs primarily came in transition, not the half-court sets.
Marshall, Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Lively all were at least plus-15 in the first half.
“At that point, we didn’t play our best basketball,” Luka said. “I think Naji changed that coming off the bench. He was amazing today. Love his game. Always loved him when he was in New Orleans. He’s a very complete player. And he’s just getting used to (us). It’s a new team and he’s going to get better and better.”
That can be said about all of the Mavericks, as they now have played a handful of games with Luka, and he with them.
“We got to remember he (Luka) didn’t have training camp, so he’s getting into his groove,” Kidd said. “And the group that played without him and now with him inserted, they have to get used to him. That’s for everyone.”
The Magic were without Banchero, who tore an oblique muscle last week and is out at least a month. The second-year forward was averaging 29 points and 8.8 rebounds in the first five games before the injury.
Without him, the Magic have struggled to score and now have lost the first three games on this five-game trip that continues to Oklahoma City and Indiana.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, banked a win that also afforded them the opportunity to get their heavy lifters a little extra rest with Monday’s late game (8:45 p.m.) coming up quickly.
X: @ESefko
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