The Doncic effect as Mavericks go streaking | NBA round-up

Dallas continues its impressive run, now boasting the longest active streak in the league with seven consecutive victories. Trailing closely are the Atlanta Hawks with six straight wins. While Atlanta managed to secure victories in Dallas’s absence, the Mavericks' progress aligns seamlessly with their brightest star, Luka Doncic, who leads the team like no other.

Dallas deliver with Doncic triple double

During their visit to Scotiabank Arena, Dallas clinched their seventh win with a score of 118-125, exuding confidence. They effectively shut down the Raptors when it mattered most, exiting the Toronto arena triumphantly.

Doncic, having recovered from a wrist issue that sidelined him, demonstrated his peak performance: another triple-double (30 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists), his second in a row. This achievement places him seventh on the NBA’s all-time list, surpassing the still-active James Harden and the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. The Slovenian sharpshooter is also excelling from beyond the arc, hitting 6 of 13 three-pointers tonight and maintaining a 40.5% success rate over his last ten games—a remarkable feat.

Toronto has lost two consecutive home games against Western teams, including a recent defeat by Oklahoma. Dallas has secured six of their seven wins against these opponents. Once again, the differences between conferences explain why the Mavericks, with strategic plays, dominated this evening.

“We have depth,” emphasized Kyrie Irving, who scored 29 points, after the game. This depth is what Mavericks fans rely on to dream of reaching the Finals again, having fallen just short against the Celtics last season. To climb that final step, they need a reliable rotation that remains consistent over time. In Toronto, they were missing key players like Kleber, Hardy, and the year’s best surprise, Naji Marshall. Unlike recent games where many contributed, they simply need a steady stream of successful plays to ease the burden on their two main stars. For instance, Klay Thompson made half of his shots, 8 out of 16. On a slow perimeter night for both him and Washington’s Dinwiddie (4/19), three high-caliber offensive threats struggled to perform, which was crucial.

This Saturday night, Doncic and his teammates notched their sixteenth win of the season, with eight losses as their counterbalance. This impressive streak, following criticisms and doubts, ties them for second place in the West with the Grizzlies, just two spots ahead of the Thunder. The much-anticipated reaction came just in time.

The initial minutes were tentative until the visitors realized Irving was performing best. Naturally, they passed the ball to him. An unguarded assist from Doncic to his teammate sparked Kyrie’s outstanding minutes: he scored 14 of the last 17 points in the first half. The ’77′ evaluated better options until midway through the second quarter, deciding to close out plays. This marked the second major run by the Texans.

Five of six actions were orchestrated by Doncic, followed by three assists in a minute leading to the game-winning shot: a three-pointer from about twelve meters out as the halftime buzzer sounded. At halftime, the score stood at 54-70, with Dallas holding a maximum lead of +24 in the 32nd minute. From that point on, the Raptors began to catch up, first accelerating and then slowing down, waiting until there were 4:03 left to get truly close in the score. They managed to reduce the deficit to -5 with a three-pointer from Gradey Dick (who scored 27 points, the best player for Rajakovic) with a minute and a half remaining. Washington and Doncic regained enough of a personal advantage to secure the win.

Other NBA results:

Hornets 102 - 116 Cavaliers

Wizards 122 - 113 Nuggets

Pelicans 109 - 119 Thunder

Knicks 111 - 120 Pistons

Heat 121 - 111 Suns

Celtics 121 - 127 Grizzlies

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