First modification: 01/01/2023 – 06:00Last modification: 01/01/2023 – 05:56
San Antonio (United States) (AFP) – Slovenian star Luka Doncic scored 51 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to their sixth straight victory, this time over the Spurs 126-125, while the Brooklyn Nets stretched their winning streak to 11 in the NBA on Saturday.
Doncic added nine assists, six rebounds, four takeaways and a block in a masterful performance for the Mavericks.
The 23-year-old Slovenian guard made two free throws with 4.1 seconds left for Dallas’ final points, then grabbed a rebound after the Spurs’ Tre Jones missed the tying layup with 2.1 seconds remaining to score. seal the win for the Mavs.
Doncic had his third 50-point outing in his last five games, including 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists Tuesday in an overtime win over the NY Knicks.
He is the first player in NBA history with 250+ points, 50+ rebounds and 50+ assists in a span of five games.
Christian Wood added 25 points in Dallas’ fifth straight victory over San Antonio.
“We’re playing defense a little bit. That gets us going on offense as well. We’ve got to keep going and get more wins,” Doncic said after the game.
For his part, Wood said of Doncic that the Slovenian “is incredible. In my seven years in the league, I have never seen anyone do what he can do. He is on an incredible run. He is playing like an MVP, clearly he is one one of the best players in the league.”
Irving and Durant shine
In Charlotte, fellow star Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 23 to propel the Brooklyn Nets to their 11th straight win with a 123-106 victory over the hometown Hornets.
The Nets improved to 24-12 and moved to second place in the Eastern Conference, becoming the second club this season to reach 24 wins.
Goalkeeper LaMelo Ball finished with 23 points and 11 assists while Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte, which now fell to 10-27.
In another game of the day, the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their sixth straight loss, a humiliating 116-104 home loss to the league-worst Detroit Pistons, now 10-29.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points to lead the Pistons, while Anthony Edwards scored 30 in a loss to the Wolves.
On the other hand, Julius Randle scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the NY Knicks to a 108-88 victory over the Houston Rockets, which broke the five-game losing streak of the New York quintet.
In the afternoon, Myles Turner scored 34 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 24 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 131-130 win over the visiting LA Clippers.
All-star point guard Chris Paul scored a game-high 45 points, but in a losing cause for the Clippers.
– Results of Saturday in the NBA:
Indiana to LA Clippers 131-130
The Knicks in Houston 108-88
Brooklyn a Charlotte 123-106
Philadelphia and Oklahoma City 115-96
Cleveland at Chicago 103-102
Dallas at San Antonio 126-125
Detroit and Minnesota 116-104
Memphis a New Orleans 111-95
Miami a Utah 126-123
© 2023 AFP