Luka Doncic Guides Mavs' 16-Point Rally, Leads Clutch Win Over Magic

Luka Doncic finished with 45 points, nine rebounds, and 15 assists in the Mavs' 16-point comeback victory over the Magic on Monday night.

DALLAS — Facing the need to bounce back from a loss against the Sacramento Kings, the Dallas Mavericks (26-21) defeated the Orlando Magic (24-23) with a final score of 131-129 on Monday night. Luka Doncic led the way with 45 points, nine rebounds, and 15 assists, with Tim Hardaway's 36 points and 20-point performances from Dereck Lively II and Jaden Hardy proving instrumental. 

With Kyrie Irving (right elbow sprain), Dante Exum (right knee soreness), and Derrick Jones Jr. (left wrist sprain) continuing to be sidelined due to injuries, the Mavs once again had to compete with a shorthanded group with Doncic leading the charge.

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Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 36 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, with plenty of possessions guarding Doncic. Franz Wagner provided 21 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Anthony Black scored 20 off the bench. Other double figure scorers for Orlando included Moritz Wagner (16 points), Jalen Suggs (11 points), and Cole Anthony (11 points).

The Mavs jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead but quickly had the momentum of the game flip against them, trailing 12-7 at the 8:08 mark of the first quarter. Doncic went under a handoff against Jalen Suggs, who made him pay by knocking down the 3-point attempt, prompting Dallas to call a timeout.

The Magic's early momentum continued, extending their lead to 18-7, but the Mavs rallied. However, Doncic hit a step-back 3-pointer, then Hardy made a pair of shots from beyond the arc, making it 19-16. Orlando managed to comfortably build its lead, holding a 35-26 edge after the first 12 minutes.

Hardy's impressive start continued even while leading the bench group without Doncic. However, the struggling defensive execution the Mavs showed only worsened in the second quarter, giving up 42 points to the Magic. Doncic checked back in at the 8:53 mark of the second period, with the Mavs trailing 43-36 after Hardaway split a pair of free throws, but the deficit ballooned back up to be double figures.

After being left wide open in the corner, Dallas Fort-Worth native Anthony Black converted on the shot, extending Orlando's lead to 12 points. The Mavs often failed to build positive momentum in the first half, with Black hitting another open shot for his 14th point of the half, pushing the Magic up 51-38 and prompting a timeout to be called by Dallas.

The defensive breakdowns were frequent for the Mavs throughout the second quarter, even losing the cutter and rim roller on various possessions. Coupled with giving up no shortage of open shots from deep, Dallas gave up 77 points in the first half, resulting in a 16-point deficit at the break.

With Doncic orchestrating, the Mavs heated up significantly from the perimeter after halftime, rallying back down 81-77 midway through the third period. Dallas continued executing on offense and defense well to further its momentum.

After Doncic got to the rim in semi-transition for a layup, then found Hardaway for an open catch-and-shoot jumper from the perimeter, Dallas took an 87-86 lead with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter. The Mavs relied on zone defensive looks to tighten things up after struggling to get stops earlier in the game.

"Energy and effort. At the end of the day, it's just caring," Kidd said. "I thought that the group did a great job there with the zone. Then, being able to rebound the ball out of the zone sometimes can cause a problem, but we got stops there in that third quarter. Our offense kind of opened up and guys started making shots."

The Mavs went on to contain the Magic to just 12 points in the entire third quarter, proving instrumental in establishing a 96-89 lead entering the final period. Dallas had outscored Orlando by a staggering 35-12 margin in the third frame.

"They responded. I thought we had a great conversation at halftime," Kidd said. "That group played hard; I thought they got off to a good start in the third quarter. [Jaden] Hardy gave us a spark off the bench. Luka was Luka. I thought the guys, again, we saw some of the problems, we talked it out in the locker room at halftime and responded.

"It was a great second half — maybe one of our best quarters [was] to hold a team to 12 points," Kidd explained. "That lets us know that we can do it and then we can hold each other accountable for that."

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After opening the fourth quarter using an 8-0 the Magic retook the lead, going up 97-96 early on. A block by Lively led to a transition pull-up two for Hardaway to put Dallas back in front. Doncic hits a step-back 3-pointer to put the Mavs up by four, scoring his 34th point of the night.

Both teams traded 3-pointers, with Doncic covering on another step-back 3-pointer in the process. Dallas experienced defensive slippage to give up a few open looks. However, Hardaway converting from deep on a pass from Doncic resulted in another lead change, putting Dallas up 109-107 midway through the final period.

“[I’ve] been playing with Luka for the last five years now since 2019 when we got traded here. I know his game," Hardaway said of Doncic. "I know his game, I know where he wants me to be out there on the floor, in pick-and-roll situations, when he wants me to slip, when he wants me to pop, when to attack, when not to. 

"Just playing off his energy. [I’m] playing off his energy meaning if they’re face-guarding him, playing off him, using him as a screener in some ways, and some situations like that," Hardaway explained. "Yeah man, it’s been a process, but it doesn’t take that long if you’re confident out there and he knows that you’re confident.”

Hardaway's contributions continued, reaching the 30-point threshold using an and-one floater on a drive to put the Mavs up by five points. A pair of made 3-pointers — one by Wagner and another by Banchero — briefly put Orlando in the lead until Hardaway hit yet another shot from deep. The Magic tied it up at 115 apiece using a finish in the paint, but Doncic used multiple pivots on a short-range turnaround to give Dallas another advantage.

After making two free throws, the Magic took a brief one-point with over two minutes left to play. Wendell Carter Jr. hit Lively II in the face on a finish attempt, resulting in a Flagrant 1 call. It was Carter's sixth foul, resulting in him fouling out. Lively received four free throw attempts and made two, putting the Mavs up 120-119 with 2:03 left.

"I think it was just a back-and-forth game, especially in the fourth quarter," Banchero said. "They got to the line. [The] flagrant foul put them up, I think, three [points]. Then we kind of tried to catch up from there. It was just a good game, back-and-forth."

The Mavs had a chance to ensure a victory after going on an 8-1 run, including Lively's free throws, but Orlando rallied back. The sequence included two free throws from Hardaway, Josh Green finishing a layup, and Doncic finding Lively for an emphatic alley-oop slam. Dallas led 126-120 with 36.1 seconds remaining in the game.

Banchero attacked the paint for a quick dunk, then Doncic split a pair of free throws. Wagner went on to finish at the rim, too, followed by Hardaway traveling after being trapped after receiving the inbound pass, as no timeout was called despite the team having one. After another dunk from Banchero, the Mavs were down 127-126 with 12.0 seconds remaining in regulation.

Doncic was intentionally fouled, then made two free throws to push the Mavs' lead to three points with 10.1 seconds to play. Dallas opted to foul up three, resulting in Wagner making both free throws to make it a one-point game with 8.3 seconds still on the clock. 

The foul game for both sides continued. Doncic was sent to the free throw line again with 6.3 seconds left; he made both to get Dallas up by three points. Banchero was sent to the free throw line with 3.6 seconds on the board, made one, and then intentionally missed the second, giving Wagner a chance to take a tough, possibly game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was offline. 

On Wednesday, the Mavs return to action when facing the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center for a one-game road trip.