NBA: Luka Doncic, still on a roll, leads Mavs against Warriors

Luka Doncic looks to continue his run of triple-doubles, likely without the possibility of Stephen Curry stealing the spotlight, when the Dallas Mavericks host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Doncic recorded a seventh straight triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists in a 127-92 road romp over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

He came up three points short of extending his NBA-record streak of 30-point triple-doubles. He had broken a tie with Russell Westbrook with a sixth 30-point triple-double in a row in a 142-124 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Doncic has 17 triple-doubles for the season and trails only Domantas Sabonis (22) and Nikola Jokic (21).

His run is tied with three others for the third-longest in NBA history, trailing only Westbrook’s 11-gamer for Oklahoma City in 2019 and Wilt Chamberlain’s nine for Philadelphia in 1968.

The 25-year-old came up two rebounds shy of a triple-double when his 39 points and 10 assists led the Mavericks to a 132-122 win at Golden State in the clubs’ only previous meeting in December. Curry countered with 25 points for the Warriors.

The Western Conference playoff hopefuls will also duel twice in four days in April, once at each site.

Doncic took a crack at a seventh straight 30-point triple-double Monday before leaving the blowout for good with 6:09 remaining in the game. He missed 3-point attempts that would have boosted him to 30 points in each of Dallas’ last two possessions before he was subbed out.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd had a feeling he’d have to make that tough decision eventually.

“Luka’s setting records and it becomes tough when you’re trying to win the game,” he said. “You’re also trying to be respectful of the situation, so to try to get him 30, because this is something that’s never been done before, also not putting him in a position to get hurt.”

The Mavericks have won three in a row after having lost five of six. They will follow the Golden State game with showdowns against two of the top teams in the West, the Thunder and the Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors avoided a three-game losing streak when they overcame the absence of Curry for the first time in five tries this season in a 112-102 road win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. The Spurs had won 126-113 at Golden State on Saturday.

Curry, who sprained his right ankle in a home loss to the Bulls on Thursday, was scheduled for a re-evaluation on Tuesday. He is expected begin practicing in the Bay Area and will join the team for Friday’s practice in Los Angeles. The Warriors visit the Lakers on Saturday.

Chris Paul, who had 24 points in the earlier loss to Dallas, was the star of Monday’s victory in San Antonio with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Afterward, the veteran praised fellow veteran Andrew Wiggins, who chipped in with 16 points, for having risen to the occasion alongside his first-year teammate.

“I told Wiggs before the game: Me and him needed to be more aggressive,” Paul said. “Our team is a lot different when Steph is out here playing. When he’s out, we have to figure things out.”

–Field Level Media/ Reuters