Dallas Basketball

Luka Burger! Doncic's 50 Points Lead Mavs Past Rockets in Crunch Time

Luka Doncic put the Mavericks on his back in Dallas' 112-106 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night with a 50-point performance.

Michael Mulford

The Dallas Mavericks (17-16) got a nail-biting 112-106 win over the Houston Rockets (9-23) on Friday night to win their second-straight game to close out a four-game road trip. Luka Doncic was the main reason why Dallas got the big win, as he scored an efficient 50 points – or a 50-burger, as many like to call it.

Houston got the better of Dallas in the first of four matchups between the two in-state rivals earlier in November without Doncic playing, but the Mavs got their revenge on Friday with No. 77 at the helm.

In the first quarter, Houston got off to a quick start with the help from Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green, but Dallas closed the quarter on a 7-0 run as Doncic scored 14 first quarter points to give the Mavs a 30-24 lead at the end of one.

Dallas extended their lead in the second quarter, outscoring Houston 31-26 to push their halftime advantage to 11 points led by Doncic's 18 first half points as the Mavericks hit eight 3-pointers in the first 24 minutes. 

To start the third quarter, Dallas came out lackadaisical while Houston came out firing to eliminate the the deficit, outscoring the Mavs 34-20 to take a three-point lead into the fourth. Doncic scored 15 of Dallas' 20 points in the quarter. The Mavs lost Reggie Bullock in the third quarter due to a neck strain.

Doncic and the Mavericks rallied in the fourth as he hit the dagger 3-pointer to give him his second-career 50-point game to avoid a second loss to the lowly Rockets. The Mavs now head into their Christmas Day game against the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-game winning streak.

Doncic also finished with eight rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals on 17-of-31 shooting from the field and 6-of-12 from the free throw line. He was quite literally a one-man wrecking crew in Houston.

Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans were the only other Mavericks in double-figures besides Doncic, both scoring 11 points. Bertans was a team-high (by far) +23 in just 17 minutes off the bench. He provided a great spark for Dallas in the fourth quarter as the Mavs put the game away.

In Christian Wood's return to Houston, he finished with eight points, five rebounds, and four blocks against his former team. Wood may not have scored a lot, but his rim protection has been vital in these last two wins, especially with Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith out with injures.

With the victory, Dallas jumps to 17-16 on the season, and they sit as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference.

The Mavericks will play host to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day at 1:30 pm CT at the American Airlines Center. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for extensive coverage leading up to that one.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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