Luka Doncic was his usual dominant self again on Saturday night as he uncorked another triple-double in leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 127-117 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans.
But it was the electrifying play of rookie guard Jaden Hardy that really got the American Airlines Center sellout crowd of 20,300 all lathered up.
For the second straight game, Hardy came off the bench and lit a fire under the Mavs. Using his exceptional speed and ability to dart from one side of the court to the another on a dime, Hardy finished Saturday’s game with a career-high tying 15 points in 21 minutes on 7-of-9 shots.
And that came on the heels of the 15-point outing in just 15 minutes that Hardy manufactured during Thursday’s game against the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.
“(Hardy) was great,” coach Jason Kidd said. “You look at the carryover from the Celtics game, what he did tonight was really, really good.
“We’ve just got to keep stacking that positivity and keep him on the floor (and) give him more minutes hopefully tomorrow.”
For the Mavs, the win was their eighth in their last nine games and increased their record to 23-17 and moved to within one game of the Pelicans (24-16) for the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed. They now will embark on a five-game rod trip which starts Sunday at 6 p.m. on the second leg of a back-to-back at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doncic finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in racking up his eighth 30-point triple-double of the season and the 55th overall triple-double of his illustrious career. Doncic had 21 points by halftime, marking the 17th time this season he’s scored at least 20 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans were playing the last leg of a back-to-back after they lost at home on Friday night to the Brooklyn Nets. On Saturday, the Pelicans were without All-Stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, as well as CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr.
However, the Mavs were aware that back on Oct. 25 when they played New Orleans, the Pelicans still defeated the Mavs, 113-111, even though they were without Williamson and Ingram.
“We talked about that even before the injury report came out,” Kidd said. “The last time that we faced them a lot of their players were out, and then we’re kind of faced with that again.
“Hopefully we learned our lessons here going forward that when players are out, that gives other guys the opportunity to show their coach that they can play. New Orleans is a deep team. The last time we saw them in New Orleans they showed us that they’re a deep team.”
The Mavs led this game by as many as 23 points. However, when mop-up duty came around, the Pelicans were able to chop that deficit down to 123-117 with 32.6 seconds left thanks to a free throw from Herbert Jones.
But the Mavs closed out the scoring when Theo Pinson and McKinley Wright IV each popped in a pair of free throws down the stretch. Meanwhile, Kidd said he was determined not to bring his starters back in the game when the Pelicans made their late run.
“It’s always good to see how people handle the situation,” he said. “It’s easy to bring Timmy (Hardaway Jr.) and Luka and those guys back in, but the team doesn’t grow.
“Having Hardy and Theo and those guys out there to execute getting the ball in — and they knocked down free throws — I think it’s a great opportunity for those guys to go and play a lot of minutes and to feel a little pressure there at the end.”
If Hardy felt any pressure, it didn’t show it. He looked so at ease on the court for the second consecutive game.
Hardy kept zooming past Pelican defenders and finishing at the rim like he was stealing candy from a baby. On one particular play, Jones was tightly guarding Hardy inside the paint, but Hardy promptly muscled his way to the basket and scored to put the Mavs ahead, 117-98, with 4:49 remaining.
That quality play got the attention of the players on the Mavs’ bench, who all stood up and roared with approval.
“That’s just me staying true to my work and the hours I put in the gym and just sticking to it and doing the same thing I do in my workouts and not being scared of anybody,” Hardy said. “I’m just hooping. I’ve been doing this my whole life.”
Hardy believes he’s ready to have some more minutes come his way, and is confident he can deliver the way he has the past two games.
“I can help the team in lots of ways,” he said. “Defensively, I feel like I can help the team, too.
“And me being able to shoot the ball and being able to play-make and play off of Luka Doncic, I look at myself as a combo guard who can run the point if necessary. But I feel like I’m comfortable playing both positions.”
Christian Wood got the Mavs off to a blazing start as he scored nine points when the Mavs blasted off to a 16-9 lead. Unfortunately, Wood had to go to the bench with two fouls less than five minutes into the game.
“He just got in foul trouble, unfortunately,” Kidd said of Wood. “But I thought, again with the foul trouble he stayed in the game.
“He was over there cheering his teammates on and he was talking. I thought he was a positive even though he wasn’t on the floor when he was cheering on his teammates.”
Wood wound up with 28 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks. JaVale McGee replaced Wood and contributed six points, six rebounds and three blocks in just 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, Hardaway scored 18 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 12 points.
Thanks to 14 points from Doncic, the Mavs led, 34-15, after a first quarter that saw the Pelicans go 6-of-26 from the field, including 0-of-11 from three-point range. For the most part, things came relatively easy for the Mavs that their hardest part was probably trying to stay focused against a team without four of their top seven players.
The Mavs led 63-46 at the half and 97-81 headed into the fourth quarter. A basket and two free throws by Wood, a bucket f
rom Hardy, a dunk by Wood and a shifty move to the basket by Hardy padded the Mavs’ led to 104-86 early in the fourth quarter.
“It was amazing,” Doncic said, describing Hardy’s performance. “He gave us the pace.
“It was just downhill all the time. They couldn’t stop him. He is a great player, and you can see it.”
The question now is, how much will the Thunder see of Doncic, who played 39 minutes and was 10-of-23 from the field.
“I’ve been playing on a sore ankle, so we’ll see,” Doncic said. “I’ve been taking some medicine. I was a little hoarse, but today I felt good.
“It always feels good when you get a win, but we have another one tomorrow to get ready for.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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