Luka Doncic fires season-high 35, gets it done for Mavs

LOS ANGELES, USA – Dallas rookie Luka Doncic matched his season-high 35 points to lead the Mavericks to a 111-98 NBA victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland in the NBA on Saturday, February 2 (Sunday, February 3, Manila time).

Slovenian sensation Doncic, who won’t turn 20 until February 28, had 28 points by halftime – almost as many as the 30 points scored before the break by all of Cleveland’s starters.

“I just felt great,” said Doncic, who was cheered by a number of Slovenian flag-waving fans in Cleveland.

“It wasn’t my best second half for sure, but we got a win so that’s all that matters for me.”

So @luka7doncic had himself a pretty good first quarter… pic.twitter.com/4gZEnyMTpE

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 3, 2019

Doncic had missed Thursday’s game in Detroit with a sore left ankle but showed no sign of injury as he scored 18 points in the 1st quarter – when he became the seventh player to score 1,000 points in the NBA before turning 20, following in the footsteps of such stars as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant.

Doncic also pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 6 assists.

Harrison Barnes scored 13 of his 17 points in the 4th quarter – his three-pointer with 4:34 to play putting the Mavs up 15 points as Dallas ended Cleveland’s two-game winning streak.

To make matters worse for the struggling Cavs, Cedi Osman limped off in the first half with a right ankle injury late in the first half.

The Mavs climbed to 24-28 in the Western Conference while the Cavs remained near bottom in the East side with an 11-42 record.

HARRISON. BARNES.  pic.twitter.com/q62GDbMElq

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 3, 2019

– Rappler.com