Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks bounced back from a hurtful loss to the New York Knicks on Friday night as they downed Houston 113-100.
Doncic had 30 points and the Mavs secured their 8th win in the last 10 games. He also contributed 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in 36 minutes of play.
Dallas remained in the hunt for the first-round home-court advantage in the postseason. They are fifth in the Western Conference with a 41-26 record, one game behind the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz.
The Mavericks have dominated the Rockets this season, and the victory improves them to 3-0 in the series. They will face Houston on Mar.24, and they’ll have the chance to sweep the season series.
After the game, Luka Doncic revealed what the short-term goal should be for the Mavericks going into the last 15 games of the season.
“Just to get at least to the fourth place. That’s our goal, to have home advantage. But other than that, just play basketball,” Doncic said, per Callie Caplan of Dallas Morning News
The Mavs lost by 30 (107-77) in the game vs the Knicks Wednesday. They bounced back Friday, but needed a little push in the fourth quarter.
Jason Kidd opted to play Doncic and Dwight Powell (26 points, 12 rebounds) for an extended period of time during the last quarter as Houston cut the lead to 14.
Dallas eventually kept its composure and claimed an important victory. They will face the red-hot Boston Celtics on Sunday in a battle between Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic.
In the last five games, Doncic is averaging 32.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Tatum has been unstoppable in the last five games, averaging 39.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Tatum put up 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the Celtics’ 103-114 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
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