Dallas continues its amazing run, currently having the league’s longest active streak of seven consecutive victories. The Atlanta Hawks are close behind, having won six games in a row. While Atlanta secured victories in Dallas’ absence, the Mavericks’ rise is in sync with their brightest star, Luka Doncic, who leads the club like no other.
Dallas delivers with Doncic’s triple-double.
Dallas exuded confidence as they won their seventh game at Scotiabank Arena by a score of 118-125. They effectively shut down the Raptors when it counted the most, leaving the Toronto stadium victorious.
Doncic, who had recovered from a wrist injury that had sidelined him, delivered his best performance: another triple-double (30 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists), his second straight. This accomplishment propels him to eighth on the NBA’s all-time list, bypassing the still-active James Harden and the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. The Slovenian sharpshooter is also performing well from beyond the arc, hitting 6 of 13 three-pointers tonight and maintaining a 40.5% success percentage over his last ten games—an impressive effort.
Toronto has dropped two straight home games versus Western opponents, including a recent setback to Oklahoma. Dallas has won six of their seven matches against these opponents. Once again, conference differences explain why the Mavericks dominated this evening through clever plays.
“We have depth,” Kyrie Irving, who scored 29 points, said after the game. This depth is what Mavericks supporters rely on as they hope to return to the Finals after falling short against the Celtics last season. To take that next step, they require a constant rotation over time. In Toronto, prominent players like as Kleber, Hardy, and the year’s biggest surprise, Naji Marshall, were absent. Unlike recent games, where several players contributed, they only require a consistent stream of successful plays to alleviate the strain on their two key stars. For example, Klay Thompson made half of his shots (8 out of 16). On a poor perimeter night for both him and Washington’s Dinwiddie (4/19), three high-caliber offensive threats failed to execute, which was critical.
Doncic and his teammates won their sixteenth game of the season on Saturday night, but they also lost eight. Following criticism and mistrust, their amazing streak has tied them for second place in the West with the Grizzlies, only two positions ahead of the Thunder. The much-anticipated reaction arrived precisely on time.
