Dallas Basketball

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Off to Best Start Since 2004: 'You Got to Enjoy It!'

After winning their third-straight game to start the season, the Mavericks are off to their best start in 19 years.

Michael Mulford

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The Dallas Mavericks won their third straight game to start the season on Monday, outlasting the Memphis Grizzlies on the road, 125-110.

Luka Doncic was at it again, notching his third-consecutive 30-point triple-double, finishing with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor and 6-of-12 from 3-point range. The four-time All-NBA First Teamer looks to be well on his way to a fifth consecutive selection, and perhaps even more.

This is the first time the Mavericks have started 3-0 since the 2004-05 season – nearly two full decades. Although they're off to a good start, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd knows they've still got a long way to go and can't take their foot off the gas.

"You got to enjoy the wins as much as we die with the losses," Kidd said. "We're 3-0. We have to enjoy that. We still know that this is a long season."

Doing something for the first time in 19 years is quite the feat. In that 2004-05 season, the 58-win Mavs were led by a 26-year old Dirk Nowitzki in his first season without his best buddy Steve Nash, who left to join the Phoenix Suns that offseason. Where was Doncic in 04-05? Well, he was merely five years old, likely dominating his friends on a Fisher Price basketball hoop.

"This is a new group, and we're getting to know each other. We still have a lot of things to get better at, but this is a good group," Kidd said. "That group in that locker room enjoys with one another and for one another. Tonight was good for us defensively. We came up with some big plays, with some steals, but I've enjoyed this group. We’re young in some areas. We have a lot to continue to keep learning."

One week into the season, the Mavs join the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets as the only undefeated teams in the league. Dallas travels to Denver on Friday but before then, the Mavs have a fairly decent chance to start 4-0 as they did in 2004-05 as they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

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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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