DALLAS—Luka Doncic gave the Dallas Mavericks a glimpse of an exciting future—and extended a bad week for the Golden State Warriors.
The rookie scored 24 points, including a short jumper that put Dallas in front for good, and the Mavericks beat the Warriors, 112-109, on Saturday night.
The 19-year-old from Slovenia arrived in the National Basketball Association (NBA) having led Real Madrid to the 2018 Euro League title. On Saturday, he hit a 10-footer in the lane with 1:10 left to put Dallas up, 109-108, then sealed the game with two free throws with seven seconds remaining.
“I’ve been doing this when I was in Madrid, too,” Doncic said. “I love the last-minute shot. [But] of course it’s different. It’s the NBA. It’s the best league in the world.”
Golden State played without injured starters Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and lost for the fourth time in six games. The Warriors dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season, and on Saturday they led by eight points in the second half before the Mavs rallied.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points, but only three in the fourth quarter on 1-for-7 shooting. Klay Thompson added 22 for the two-time defending NBA champions. Durant missed two shots and Thompson one in the final minute, all of which could have either tied the game or put Golden State ahead.
“You don’t set NBA records being frustrated,” Thompson said. “I’m not going to go over here and dwell on missing a couple of shots, missing a game-tying shot this early in the season.”
Harrison Barnes had 23 points for the Mavericks, who have won four in a row. It was just the second time Dallas has beaten Golden State in their past 19 meetings, the other coming on December 30, 2015—one of only nine games the Warriors lost that regular season.
An 8-0 Mavs run early in the fourth quarter, capped by Dwight Powell’s three-point play, gave Dallas its first lead since early in the third quarter, 93-92, with 9:18 to play. After Golden State surged ahead again, the Mavericks hung tough and Dorian Finney-Smith’s fast-break lay-up put Dallas back up, 107-106, with 1:45 remaining.
“Our guys worked incredibly hard to wear on them throughout the game and we made their shots a little more difficult,” Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle said. “When you work as hard as we did, you get luck to go your way.”
MAGIC END LAKERS’ STREAK
THERE was a closer on the floor when the Lakers faced the Magic, and it wasn’t LeBron James.
Nikola Vucevic had 36 points, including eight straight in a crucial stretch of the fourth quarter, and Orlando beat Los Angeles, 130-117, on Saturday night in Orlando, ending the Lakers’ four-game winning streak.
James was on the bench the entire fourth quarter as the Lakers went to a small lineup to trim a 21-point deficit to just 10 with more than four minutes to play. Vucevic snuffed out the rally right there, getting a three-point play against Michael Beasley and following that with five more points to push the advantage back to 13 with just over two minutes to go.
“We have other guys who could do that, but it is a responsibility I take on myself to finish out games, especially when I have it going,” Vucevic said. “I had a good matchup and I wanted to keep it going, that’s all.”
Vucevic hit 15 of 23 shots, including 10 of 14 in the second half. He got help from D.J. Augustin, who had 22 points and seven assists, and Evan Fournier, who scored 15. Terrence Ross had 13 points and Aaron Gordon and Jonathon Simmons scored 12 each for the Magic.
“When teams downsize, they’re not going to be able to guard [Vucevic] one-on-one,” Magic Coach Steve Clifford said. “He’s either going to be able to get good shots like he did tonight, or we’re going to be able to play out of double-team, where he is a great passer.”
The Lakers got 22 points from James, 19 from Lance Stephenson and 17 from Brandon Ingram, but were down 15 early in the second half and never got closer than 10 in the fourth quarter.
“I give credit to that group that was out there,” James said. “They continued to fight.”
“I always appreciate guys not giving up,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “If you’re up or down 20, an NBA game is never over. We gave ourselves a chance and unfortunately they hit some shots that took the lead back up.”