As fireworks exploded around the AT&T Center after the Mavericks’ wild 126-125 victory over the Spurs on New Year’s Eve, Luka Dončić put it all in perspective.
“Just winning feels good,” he said. “The locker room feels good. Everybody is happy, just joking around. When you’re winning, everything is great. So that was our goal. We got to keep winning.”
So, maybe the Mavericks should keep on winning. And though the sample size is small, they may have stumbled onto a blueprint that could work into the new year.
The partnership of Dončić and Christian Wood finished 2022 on a smashing run. Six consecutive wins have them working together, smiling together and hanging out together better than they have all season.
It only took a couple months of initiation time, relatively short by NBA standards. And as the Mavericks arrived in Houston for their Monday meeting with the Rockets – the teams’ third meeting in 11 days – the Luka-Wood pairing appears to be paying dividends.
Dončić has a theory on why.
“He doesn’t get mad if sometimes I yell at him,” he said of Wood. “That’s what I appreciate. In the game, sometimes, it’s hard to be with me on the court. I just want to win. But he never gets mad. He listens to me. I listen to him. So it’s working great.”
Wood obviously has been the one that has to adjust in this relationship.
Luka has been playing like an MVP pretty much all season, but especially so during the six-game winning streak.
But Wood also has been finding his spots. He has averaged 23.8 points in the last four games, including 25 against the Spurs. He’s shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range in that span.
“We just feed off of each other on the court,” Wood said. “I’m confident in him and I think he’s confident in me. When it’s time to pick-and-roll, I think we do a great job executing it. (And) we’re pretty close.”
And, if you’re going to get along with Luka, you have to be able to give-and-take when it comes to poking fun at each other and having fun together.
Dončić claims that Wood “has no sense of humor. I have way more. My jokes are great. More dad jokes.
To which Wood simply shrugs.
But he is impressed with what he’s seeing out of the Mavericks’ leader.
“It’s incredible,” Wood said of Luka. “In my seven years in the league, I’ve never seen anything like it, to do what he’s doing. He just has to keep it up. He’s on an incredible run. He’s playing like the MVP. Clearly one of the best players in the league. And I’m happy for him.”
Kidd knows how important it is for Wood to become the sidekick to Dončić this season. Last year, Jalen Brunson filled the role admirably. And got paid handsomely for doing so.
Wood knows the same thing could happen to him this year, the last of his current contract.
“C-Wood’s playing great,” Kidd said. “Being able to play off of Luka, he (gets) some great looks. And defensively, for rebounding and being able to protect the rim, he’s doing that at a high rate. We need that. Him and Luka are playing well. They got a great connection and they protect each other on the defensive end.”
Wood and Dončić both have been around long enough to know that chemistry doesn’t happen overnight. It took last year’s Mavericks well into the new year to hit a stride that would lead them deep into the playoffs.
“Last year, we went to the conference finals, it was a big step for us,” Dončić said. “I think we learned a lot. This year, we got a couple new players and we’re starting to connect.”
And Luka only hopes for one thing beyond that.
More wins.
Twitter: @ESefko
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