Luka Doncic inspires Dallas Mavericks to comeback win over Houston Rockets
Sunday 9 December 2018 09:23, UK
Rookie forward Luka Doncic inspired a late-game comeback with an individual scoring surge as the Dallas Mavericks extended their home-court winning streak to nine games with a 107-104 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Doncic finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, scoring 11 consecutive points down the stretch after the Rockets had secured their largest lead of the game at 102-94.
The 19-year-old Slovenian converted all three of his three-pointers on the night plus a driving layup during the outburst, his final trey providing the Mavericks with the lead for good at 105-102 with 57.5 seconds remaining.
Rookie point guard Jalen Brunson, making his second career start in place of injured guard Dennis Smith Jr. (wrist), added a late layup while producing 14 points, three assists and three steals.
Six Mavericks scored in double figures, with center DeAndre Jordan pairing 12 points with 20 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes and Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points apiece for Dallas. Wesley Matthews finished with 21 to share team-high scoring honours with Doncic, drilling 4-7 attempts from deep.
James Harden paced the Rockets, who have lost seven of their last nine games, with 35 points and eight assists but missed two three-point attempts as Doncic caught fire.
Chris Paul chipped in 23 points and eight assists for the Rockets but misfired on a pair of free throws that would have stalled the Mavericks' late rally.
The Mavericks improve to 13-11, while the Rockets are just one place off the bottom of the Western Conference after falling to 11-14.
Sky Sports is the new home of the NBA in the UK with live coverage throughout the week, including selected live games free to all Sky subscribers via Sky Sports Mix.
And www.skysports.com/nba will be your home for news, reports, video and features throughout the season while you can follow us @SkySportsNBA
