LUKA Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks torch the Houston Rockets. AFP
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Slovenia’s Luka Doncic continued his otherworldly start to the NBA season, scoring 41 points as the Dallas Mavericks won their fifth straight with a 137-123 victory over the slumping Houston Rockets.
Doncic, whose remarkable start has his per game averages at near triple-double levels, also had 10 assists and six rebounds while Rockets superstar James Harden finished with 32 points and 11 assists in a showdown of dominant scorers.
The 20-year-old’s fellow European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia also recorded a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks led wire-to-wire for the victory.
“Luka runs the show,” Porzingis said. “We all depend on him most of the game, and he’s playing incredible right now. He’s getting guys open looks. I’m super happy for him.”
Heading into Sunday’s contest, Doncic was averaging 33.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.0 assists during the Mavericks’ five-game streak, which included back-to-back 40 point-plus victories over Cleveland and Golden State.
Tim Hardaway scored 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including five of 11 on three-pointers in the win in front of a crowd of 18,050 at Toyota Center arena.
“This is a big win. There’s no question about that,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “You come in here, this is a big-time place to play and you’re playing against great players.
“So our guys deserve credit but this is a process and it’s day by day and week by week, and we’ve got to continue to go for daily improvement.”
The Rockets dropped their third straight game following an eight-game winning streak. Houston had their moments when they came close to forcing a tie but they always fell just short.
Dallas shot 48 percent overall and hit 17 of 44 three-pointers. The Rockets finished 10 of 44 from beyond the arc as Harden alone missed 13 of the 15 three-pointers he attempted.
The Rockets opened the game with three turnovers on their first three possessions, fuelling the Mavericks’ 7-0 start.
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