Dallas Basketball

Luka Doncic Bounces Back with 40-Point Triple-Double; Mavs Snap Two-Game Skid

After a disappointing two-game losing streak on the road, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks bounced back at home in Saturday's victory against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Michael Mulford

The Dallas Mavericks outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers down the stretch, 117-112, to end a two-game skid, led by Luka Doncic's 40-point triple-double at American Airlines Center on Saturday night. The Mavs improved to 7-5 while the Trail Blazers fell to 9-4 on the young season.

The Mavericks got off to another slow start, as the Trail Blazers jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but Dallas quickly rallied as they ended the first quarter with a 35-25 lead behind 10 points off the bench for Christian Wood.

Portland closed out the second quarter strong with a 13-0 run, as Dallas’ lead shrunk to just two heading into halftime, 59-57. The Mavs were led by Doncic’s 22-point first half.

To start the second half, the Trail Blazers came out firing, jumping out to an eight-point lead before ending up with an 88-85 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Portland was led by Jerami Grant’s season-high 33 points.

In the fourth, Spencer Dinwiddie caught fire in the final minutes, hitting three clutch 3-pointers in the closing moments to clinch the game for Dallas. The Mavericks also had many timely stops on the defensive end to seal the deal.

After a two-game slump, Doncic bounced back in a big way on Saturday, finishing with 42 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals on 13-of-22 from the floor and 15-of-18 from the free throw line. 

Dinwiddie's hot-shooting fourth quarter helped him finish with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists on 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from downtown. Tim Hardaway Jr. found a groove off the bench, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds, and five assists.

Christian Wood played well in his return after missing the last two games due to a left knee sprain, finishing with 19 points and five rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes. However, he struggled to stay on the floor floor due to foul trouble, and he exited the game with his sixth foul with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

The Mavericks will look to build on Saturday's victory on Tuesday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for more coverage between now and then.

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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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