NBA: Doncic, Exum lead Mavs past LeBron, Lakers

LOS ANGELES -- Luka Doncic produced another dazzling performance as the Dallas Mavericks brought LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers back down to earth with a 127-125 victory on Tuesday.

Doncic rattled off his eighth straight 30-point game to finish with 33 points, 17 assists and six rebounds in a thrilling back-and-forth duel with the Lakers, who were playing their first game since winning the inaugural in-season tournament on Saturday.

An absorbing contest at Dallas's American Airlines Center home saw the lead change hands eight times, with the Lakers overturning a 15-point deficit with a huge third quarter to help open up a four-point lead early in the fourth.

But Dallas's Dante Exum took over with a superb display in the final period that saw him rattle in 17 points -- including five three-pointers -- to carry the Mavs to victory.

Exum finished with 26 points while Tim Hardaway Jr. added 32 points from the bench to support Doncic.

Anthony Davis led the Lakers scoring with 37 points from 15-of-21 shooting, with James adding 33.

Doncic stayed in the game despite rolling an ankle and suffering a bloodied lip in a physical battle between the two Western Conference rivals.

"I'm not going out in a game like this, no way," the Slovenian star said. "When you're playing against the best you want to stay on the court.

"This was an amazing team win. We've got so many guys out, everybody stepped up, everybody played hard."

- Green, Jokic tossed -

Doncic admitted he was flattered by talk of him potentially emerging as a contender for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award -- but insisted team success was more important than individual honors.

"Of course, who wouldn't want to be MVP of the league?" Doncic said. "But obviously first is the championship... that's what's first on my mind for sure."

The win saw the Mavericks improve to 15-8 for the season while the Lakers fell to 14-10 to remain sixth in the West.

In other games, Draymond Green could be facing more disciplinary action from the NBA after being ejected for the third time this season in the Golden State Warriors' 119-116 defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

Green, suspended for five games last month after grabbing Minnesota's Rudy Gobert in a choke hold, was tossed once again in the third quarter after wildly swinging an arm into the face of Phoenix player Jusuf Nurkic.

The game eventually ended in victory for the Suns, with Devin Booker scoring 32 points as the Warriors slid to a sixth straight defeat on the road.

There was also a high-profile ejection in Chicago, where Denver star Nikola Jokic was controversially tossed from the game in the second quarter of the Nuggets' 114-106 defeat of the Chicago Bulls.

Jokic was ejected after reacting angrily to a no-call with a member of the officiating crew.

In Boston, the Celtics recovered from a shaky start to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-113 and preserve their unbeaten home record.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece while Kristaps Porzingis finished with 17 on a night when all five starters posted double-digit tallies.

But the Eastern Conference leaders were made to work hard for the win after trailing by 15 points in the first quarter following a slew of turnovers and some woeful shooting.

The Cavs led by 10 after the first period but the Celtics responded with a 38-point second period to cut the gap to one point at half-time.

In a game that had nine lead changes, the Celtics finally edged clear midway through the fourth quarter to close out victory.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cleveland scoring with 29 points with Darius Garland finishing with 26.

"We got off to a slow start but we picked it up and some shots started to fall," Tatum said.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Luka Doncic-led Mavericks hand Jazz fourth straight setback

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jalen Brunson added another double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks took over fourth place in the Western Conference and handed the visiting Utah Jazz their fourth consecutive loss, 114-100 on Sunday.

After trailing for almost the entire first half and by as many as 11 points, Dallas (46-29) came alive in the third quarter. Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Brunson added one of his own, part of a 14-4 Mavericks run in the first 3:33 coming out of intermission.

Dallas outscored Utah in the third quarter, 32-20, then erupted for a 17-9 run over the first 5:55 of the fourth quarter to effectively put the game away.

The Mavericks held Donovan Mitchell, averaging 26.1 points per game coming into Sunday's matchup, to 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting. He was a non-factor in the second half at 1-of-3 shooting from the floor.

Mitchell also shot just 1-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, part of a 12-of-34 performance from long range for the Jazz (45-30). Dallas shot 17-of-34 from deep, paced by Reggie Bullock's career-high-tying seven made on 11 attempts.

Bullock finished with 23 points. Spencer Dinwiddie added 12 points off the bench.

While three Mavericks scored at least 22 points, no one from Utah finished with more than 18. Rudy Gay led the Jazz with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, second on the team to Juancho Hernangomez's nine.

Jordan Clarkson shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range for 14 points off the bench, Trent Forrest chipped in another 10 points from the bench, and Mike Conley led the Utah starters with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor. Conley also dished a game-high seven assists.

Sunday's win pushed Dallas ahead of Utah for fourth place in the West with seven games remaining on its schedule.

-reuters

NBA: Luka Doncic, Mavericks storm back for win over Miami

Luka Doncic had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, helping the Dallas Mavericks rally past the host Miami Heat, 107-99, on Tuesday night.

Miami consistently double-teamed Doncic, who shot 5 of 19 from the floor. However, the Mavs made two huge three-pointers in the final two minutes, by Jalen Brunson and by Maxi Kleber. 

Each of them scored 19 points, and that was a season high for Kleber.

In addition, Kleber had a game-high five blocked shots.

Dallas rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit as the Mavericks snapped Miami's five-game win streak. Dallas is 5-1 in its past six games.

Miami was led by Jimmy Butler, who had a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds. Miami's Bam Adebayo added 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Heat's home record fell to 19-7.

Miami entered the game leading the NBA in three-point percentage (37.6). But Dallas held Miami to 7 of 27 on three-pointers (25.9 percent).

Dallas shot 18 of 41 on three-pointers (43.9 percent).

Tyler Herro, Miami's second-leading scorer on the season, missed his third game out of the past four due to a right knee contusion.

The Mavs were without several injured players, including two of their top six scorers: Tim Hardaway Jr. (foot) and Reggie Bullock (hip).

However, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans -- acquired last week in a trade for Kristaps Porzingis -- made their Mavericks debuts. Bertans had 12 points. Dinwiddie had four points and five assists.

In the first quarter, Miami shot 57.1 percent and led, 28-23. Miami's Omer Yurtseven went 4-for-4 and had eight points in four minutes off the bench.

The Heat held Doncic to four points on 1-for-5 shooting in that first quarter, but Dallas stayed in the game by making five of nine attempts from beyond the arc.

Miami stretched its lead to 59-51 at halftime. Miami shot 52.3 percent in the first half and had a 26-15 rebounding edge.

Butler led all first-half scorers with 13 points. Doncic had 10 points at the half despite shooting just 2 of 9.

Doncic had 11 points in the third quarter as the Mavs took an 81-78 lead. Miami made just 1 of 10 three-pointers in the third.

Dallas kept coming in the fourth quarter, taking a 96-85 lead with 6:56 left, and Miami never recovered.

-reuters

NBA: Clippers beat Mavericks despite 45 points by Luka Doncic

Reggie Jackson scored 24 points and Terance Mann added a season-high 21 as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers withstood a fourth-quarter barrage by Luka Doncic for a 99-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

Doncic finished with 45 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists after scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter, including 19 straight to end the game.

Doncic scored with eight seconds left to cut the Clippers' lead to 98-97 before Jackson made one of two foul shots with 3.4 seconds left. Los Angeles escaped with the win after Doncic's shot from 35 feet out missed the mark.

Marcus Morris Sr. scored 20 points and Amir Coffey 11 for the Clippers, who snapped a three-game losing streak and avenged a 112-105 loss to the Mavericks on Thursday.

Clippers center Ivica Zubac tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high six assists in a game that featured 14 lead changes.

Jalen Brunson scored 22 points and Reggie Bullock added 17 for the Mavericks, whose four-game winning streak came to an end.

The Clippers led by 10 early in the fourth quarter before Dallas battled back and cut the deficit to 92-89 on Doncic's 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining.

After Jackson responded with four straight points, Dallas pulled within 97-92 when Doncic scored with 1:07 left.

Los Angeles clearly focused on slowing down Doncic, who scored 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first quarter in Dallas' victory on Thursday.

The strategy worked early as Doncic was held to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting in the opening quarter. Dallas led 26-23 after the Clippers missed nine of their first 11 attempts from beyond the arc.

Coffey scored nine points in the second quarter for Los Angeles, which carried a 49-48 lead into halftime.

Dallas committed seven turnovers in the third quarter and trailed 70-67 after the Clippers ended the period on a 9-3 run.

Mann grabbed nine rebounds starting in place of Norman Powell (left big toe). Tempers flared between Mann and Doncic in the fourth quarter and double technicals were assessed with 3:30 left.

Dallas played without Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, who were acquired from the Washington Wizards for Kristaps Porzingis at Thursday's trade deadline.

-reuters-

NBA: Luka Doncic leads Mavs to comeback win over Rockets

The Dallas Mavericks scored the first 13 points of the second half to erase a deficit, and they rode Luka Doncic's 26-point, 14-rebound performance to a 116-106 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

Reggie Bullock and Tim Hardaway Jr. each chipped in with 16 for the Mavericks, who were embarrassed 133-108 in the Rockets' only visit to Dallas last season.

Houston led for most of the first half and took a 60-57 edge into the intermission, but 44 seconds later, that advantage was gone for good.

Hoops by Hardaway and Doncic on Dallas' first two possessions of the third period triggered the burst that opened a 10-point Mavericks advantage. Hardaway added a 3-pointer and Doncic a three-point play to the run, which extended more than four minutes before David Nwaba ended Houston's drought.

Looking to avoid a third loss in four games, the Rockets closed within two on a pair of occasions early in the fourth period, the last time on an Alperen Sengun 3-pointer with 11:13 to go.

Boban Marjanovic countered with a pair of baskets before Bullock hit 2- and 3-pointers in a 9-0 flurry that put the Mavericks in command the rest of the way.

Doncic shot just 10-for-25 overall and 1-for-6 on 3-point attempts, but complemented his double-double with seven assists.

Jalen Brunson also posted a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 assists, and Marjanovic finished with 11 points for the Mavericks, who were playing their home opener after splitting a pair on the road to begin the season.

The Mavericks outshot the Rockets 46.2 percent to 41.9 percent.

Hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range, Eric Gordon paced Houston with 22 points off the bench. Starters Christian Wood (16), Daniel Theis (15), Kevin Porter Jr. (13) and Jalen Green (10) also scored in double figures.

Wood and Theis notched double-doubles, Wood with a game-high 17 rebounds, Theis with 10 boards. Porter added a team-high eight assists.

The Rockets outscored the Mavericks 48-36 on 3-pointers to keep the game competitive.

-reuters