Dallas Basketball

Luka Doncic 'Re-Writing The Record Books!' 3 Big Takeaways From Mavs Over Denver

After a disappointing loss on Wednesday to Houston, the Dallas Mavericks kept their foot on the gas on Friday to blow past the Denver Nuggets.

Michael Mulford

On Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks eased past the undermanned Denver Nuggets for the victory, 127-99. ... with Luka Doncic once again easing into Oscar Robertson territory.

The Mavs didn't play with their food in this contest as they had no trouble putting away a Nuggets team that was without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Luka Doncic led the way on Friday night with yet another triple-double, the 50th of his career. Doncic finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists on 11-of-22 shooting from the field and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. 

Christian Wood added a season-high 28 points and eight rebounds off the bench on an efficient 11-of-16 from the field. 

Here are the three big takeaways from the Mavs blowout win over the Nuggets:

Triple-double machine

It was really just another night at the office for Doncic on Friday night, despite notching his 50th career triple-double. 

From the opening tip, Doncic controlled the pace of the game and on one on the Nuggets roster had any chance of slowing him down, leading him to his 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

It really is amazing that just how skilled Doncic is, his biggest asset seems to be his pace and the ability to play his preferred speed no matter who the opponent or individual defender is.

What stood out on Friday was the passing. We all know how special of a playmaker that Doncic is, but man, did he make some nifty passes in the Mavs' win against the Nuggets that very few other players across the league could make.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd spoke on Doncic's performance and supplanting his name in the record books as the second-fastest player to 50 career triple-doubles behind Oscar Robertson.

"Pretty impressive, he's going to rewrite — well, he's already rewriting the record books," Kidd said. "That's pretty cool to be the 2nd. Oscar was pretty special. Now to be there right behind Oscar ... shows you how good he is."

Overall, just another special night for No. 77 in Dallas. 

Wood’s dominance

Don’t let Doncic’s 50th career triple-double blind you from Wood’s performance on Friday, scoring a season-high 28 points and eight rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting from the field.

Wood was simply an automatic bucket in Friday's victory. No matter who the defender was, Wood was able to get whatever he wanted against the Nuggets. The absences of Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon eliminated some of Denver’s size, giving the Mavericks’ versatile big man more room to operate.

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Speaking of operate, playing alongside Doncic clears up plenty of space and open looks for Wood and his teammates, which helped generate 18 first-half points for Dallas’ sixth man.

Wood is still finding his way and perfecting his role with the Mavericks just as Jason Kidd is continuing to figure out how to properly use him, and how much to use him.

Taking advantage of opportunities

So far this season, a lot like in seasons past, the Mavericks have underwhelmed in games against lesser or undermanned opponents. Whether it’s coming out flat and disinterested or just get completely outplayed and out-coached, it’s been an issue. Doncic even noted that Dallas now has a reputation for letting down in a no-Jokic sort of situation.

“We kind of know when the other team has superstars out that we lose (the) game,'' Luka said frankly. "We’re kind of known for that, I guess. Today we had to change this …”

On Friday, that was clearly not a factor against a Denver team who was without Jokic, Murray, and Gordon within their starting lineup, eliminating just under 52 points per game and the back-to-back league MVP.

Coming off a loss on Wednesday to the now 3-12 Houston Rockets, getting off to a fast start against the short-handed Nuggets was crucial as every single game counts in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference.

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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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