Dallas Mavericks standout Luka Doncic enters Monday’s visit to the Chicago Bulls on an unprecedented tear, but while he has routinely shed his defenders, his modesty is intact.
“I think it’s my best season, for sure,” Doncic said. “But I’ve still got a lot to improve.”
Doncic makes that statement even after setting an NBA record with his sixth consecutive 30-point triple-double. His 39-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort to key a 142-124 victory at Detroit on Saturday also was the league-best fifth straight time Doncic scored at least 35 points to spark a triple-double.
“That just shows where he’s playing at right now, the level that he’s at,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “To be able to score and also being able to find his teammates, and then lastly being able to rebound the ball to help us on the defensive end.”
Dallas has won consecutive games for the first time since rattling off seven straight victories from Feb. 5-22. Four teammates followed Doncic in double figures, led by Kyrie Irving with 21 points.
The Mavericks remain in firm position in the Western Conference playoff picture, moving within one game of the sixth seed and the opportunity to remain out of the conference play-in tournament.
Doncic called his run “good, as long as we get the win. We got two wins now in a row, so we’ve got to keep going like that.”
More entrenched in a conference play-in race, the Bulls were unable to complete a 4-0 road trip and match their season-high winning streak, losing 112-102 to the host Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Los Angeles outscored Chicago 66-45 after the break to erase a solid first half for the Bulls, who were aiming to reach the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-2 on Oct. 30.
“I thought we started the first half well. We moved the ball and made some shots,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “The turnovers and our inability to make enough shots kind of impacted the third quarter.”
The Bulls have won or split the past four season series against Dallas. To extend the streak, they’ll need to rebound from a 114-105 road loss on Nov. 1.
While Nikola Vucevic shined for Chicago with 21 points and 20 rebounds in that game, the Mavericks’ Grant Williams had 25 points to lead all scorers. Doncic, meanwhile, contributed 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Chicago has won six of the past eight meetings with Dallas overall.
Four Bulls starters scored in double figures against the Clippers. DeMar DeRozan finished with 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and Vucevic supplied 22 points and 11 boards.
Alex Caruso fell one point short of reaching double figures. Still, his intangibles and floor game, especially defensively, continue to hold the group together.
“The plays he makes are so important,” Vucevic said. “It’s a huge bonus for us to have that on the defensive end. He helps us so much and covers so much space, and his communication. We know we can rely on him night in and night out, and it’s huge to have that.”
–Field Level Media
