Doncic Earns First Triple-Double as Mavs Win Over Harden's Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks got back on track Monday night, defeating James Harden and the Houston Rockets 113-100 at the Toyota Center

Matt Galatzan | Jan 4, 2021

Luka Doncic earned his first triple-double of the season on Monday night, finishing with 33 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, as he led the Dallas Mavericks to a 113-100 win over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

Doncic, who played despite a quad injury, now has 26 triple-doubles before turning 22 years old, giving him more than the next two closest players combined, with 25 from Magic Johnson and Ben Simmons.

"I'm ready to play,'' Luka said, "and keep doing the conditioning."

With a new starting lineup at their disposal, the Mavericks got off to a quick start in their first matchup against former assistant coach Stephen Silas, leading Houston 33-21 after the first quarter.

That fast start proved to be the difference in the game, as Dallas used suffocating defense on James Harden to hold the former MVP to a season-low 21 points on 5-of-17 shooting, to go along with 10 assists.

Making his first start of the season, Willie Cauley-Stein finished +20, with 15 points and six rebounds on 5-of-7 from the field. Meanwhile, Maxi Kleber, despite failing to score a point, finished +16 in 18 minutes, while also making his first start of the year.

Coming off of the bench, Tim Haradway Jr. was arguably the hero of the night, scoring 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 8-of-10 from three, and grabbing seven rebounds in the win.

Said Carlisle: "Tonight, Tim Hardaway Jr. showed you what class and professionalism is."

As a team, Dallas shot 47-percent from the floor and a fantastic 41-percent from beyond the arc, while holding the Rockets to 39-percent from the floor and 27.5-percent from three.

Behind their new starting lineup, Dallas also won the rebounding battle decidedly, by a margin of 51-35.

Following the win, Dallas (3-4) will head to Denver to take on the Nuggets to wrap up their three-game road trip, and MFFL's hope, get back to .500.

Published Jan 4, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com. He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com