Doncic Helps Mavs Take Down Struggling Nets 123-111
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Dallas Mavericks pull away for a 123-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Seth Curry finished with 25 points while keeping the Mavericks even with the Nets with Doncic sitting late in the third quarter and Nos. 2 and 3 scorers Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. out with injuries.
Maxi Kleber scored a season-high 18 points to help the Mavericks avoid their first three-game losing streak in the opener of a six-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Doncic remained tied with Jason Kidd for the franchise record for triple-doubles in one season with nine. That's in part because the 20-year-old had seven assists while taking more of the scoring load. The 2019 Rookie of the Year had 13 rebounds.
Porzingis is nursing a sore right knee — not the one he injured in what ended up being his final game for the Knicks almost two years ago — and Hardaway is working back from a hamstring strain. They've both missed the past two games.
Spencer Dinwiddie led seven Brooklyn players in double figures with 19 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Nets from losing their fourth straight game for the first time this season.
Doncic started a decisive 13-4 run with a 3-pointer midway though the fourth quarter and capped it with layup for a 116-104 lead with 3:48 remaining.
DeAndre Jordan, who went from Dallas to New York in the blockbuster seven-player trade that brought Porzingis almost a year ago, had 10 points and 10 rebounds against his former team.
Jordan, who made his fourth start, signed with the Nets in the offseason. He infamously spurned the Mavericks in free agency after agreeing to a deal with them, only to join them three years later after taking a buyout from the Los Angeles Clippers.
TIP-INS:
G Garrett Temple missed his first game of the season with a right knee contusion. "I think it's a short-term thing," coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We collectively decided to use this game as our chance to rest it."
Taurean Prince was called for a first-half technical for pushing Kleber, but a review showed Kleber knocking center Jarrett Allen to the floor by leaning in with a shoulder before Prince's shove. Kleber was assessed a technical as well.
UP NEXT:
The Nets face Toronto at home on Saturday.
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