Luka Doncic Records First Triple-Double of Season, Mavs Steamroll Wizards, 137-101

The Wizards seemed outmatched from the beginning in this one

Dec 5, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards guard Jared Butler (4) defends in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks looked to extend their winning streak to six on Thursday night, facing the lowly Washington Wizards, losers of 15 straight games. Dallas teams of yesteryear would drop games like this, but this team has been playing its best basketball as of late.

Now mostly healthy, the Mavericks started Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II, while the Wizards started Jordan Poole, Malcolm Brogdon, Bilal Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, and Marvin Bagley III.

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It was an odd start to the game, as Dallas seemed to be looking for early highlight plays, especially from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They were showcasing a tight handle and some deep stepbacks early in the game. But an early 13-0 run by the Mavs gave them a 16-6 lead to force a Washington timeout.

The early difference was the three-point shooting, as the Mavs started 5/10 from deep, and Washington was 0/9. The Wizards would cut the lead down to five before the end of the first quarter, but the Mavs built the lead back up to 31-22 heading into the second quarter after two three-pointers from Spencer Dinwiddie.

Klay Thompson got going in the second quarter, hitting two three-pointers in the opening minutes of the frame for the Mavs to go up 39-24. Dallas kept building on that and would lead by 20 just a few minutes later.

The Wizards would slowly chip away at the lead by shooting ten free throws in the second quarter, getting the lead down to 12 just before the end of the half. Kyrie Irving single-handedly stopped that momentum by scoring nine points in the final few minutes to take a 68-50 lead into halftime.

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Dallas picked up right where they left off, opening the lead up to 25 early in the third quarter. Assistant coach Jared Dudley mentioned they wanted to extend the lead and let the rest of the bench play more so they could save their legs for Toronto on Saturday and wanted to build a big lead as soon as possible. It looked like the Mavs were on their way to doing that until Washington chipped the lead back down to 16.

The Mavs responded to that with a 10-0 run to take a 95-69 lead before the end of the third quarter, eventually taking a 102-77 lead heading into the fourth. Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II combined for 13 points in the third quarter as things kept opening up at the rim on passes from Luka Doncic.

Dallas' lead was quickly extended to 30 in the first few minutes of the quarter following a corner three from Klay Thompson and a reverse dunk for Gafford. Luka Doncic would record his tenth assist a few minutes later, and that would be all we'd see of the main rotation. Even Markieff Morris got in the game and hit a three against his former team near the end of this game.

The Mavericks would go on to win 137-101 for their sixth straight win and their tenth in the last 11 games, and they now sit at 15-8 in third place in the Western Conference. Depending on if the Rockets lose to the Warriors tonight, the Mavs could be tied for second. Meanwhile, Washington has lost 16 straight games, tying a franchise record they set last year, and they now sit at 2-18.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavs in scoring with 25 points on 10/16 shooting. Luka Doncic recorded his first triple-double of the season with 21 points, 10 points, and 10 rebounds. Daniel Gafford had a nice game in his first game back in D.C. since being traded to the Mavs last season, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Spencer Dinwiddie (12 points), Klay Thompson (11), PJ Washington (10), Quentin Grimes (14), and Jaden Hardy (13) were also in double figures scoring.

The Mavericks will play on the road again on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors.

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