Luka Doncic collected 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 104-93 victory over the host Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, January 13 (Thursday, January 14, Philippine time).
Doncic, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, made 5-of-9 shots from three-point range to send Dallas to its fourth straight win overall and fourth in a row in Charlotte.
Charlotte’s Gordon Hayward scored 16 points before leaving the game in the 3rd quarter due to a strained left hip. He did not return.
Hayward entered the contest averaging a team-best 22.5 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds. He is playing in his first season with the Hornets since signing a four-year, $120 million deal in the offseason.
Tim Hardaway Jr had 18 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 16 while making his season debut.
Porzingis, who underwent left knee surgery on October 9, reportedly was in line to play against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, but that game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues among the Mavericks.
Boban Marjanovic and Trey Burke each had 8 points for Dallas, which played without Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell due to health and safety protocols.
Terry Rozier scored 18 points and PJ Washington added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who saw their four-game winning streak come to a halt.
Porzingis drained two three-pointers to push Dallas’ lead to 66-44 early in the 3rd quarter, but Hayward converted twice from beyond the arc to highlight a 12-0 run by Charlotte.
The Hornets closed to within 71-62 midway into the 3rd, but Doncic scored 13 of his team’s next 16 points to give the Mavericks an 87-70 advantage.
Dallas secured a 32-16 lead after one quarter due in large part to the play of Doncic and Marjanovic.
Doncic scored 11 points overall in the period while Marjanovic had 8 during the Mavericks’ 10-0 run to end the quarter.
Charlotte didn’t help itself as it made just 2-of-10 attempts from three-point range and committed 5 turnovers in the opening 12 minutes.
Doncic rested for a prolonged stretch of the 2nd quarter before his three-point attempt banked in to stake Dallas to a 60-43 lead at halftime. – Rappler.com
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