DALLAS — Luka Doncic returned to the lineup and scored 53 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105 on Monday night, while Spencer Dinwiddie finished 12 out of 12 in the fourth quarter. Got 10 points.
Doncic has scored 50 points in four of his five career games this season. He scored his career-high 60 points against the New York Knicks in a game that went into overtime on his December 27th.
His 53 points tied Dirk Nowitzki’s total on December 2, 2004 against the Houston Rockets for the second-most in Dallas history.
Doncic scored 24 points in the first quarter and 18 points in the third. The second-leading NBA player, averaging 33 points per game, returned after missing Saturday’s game against Utah after spraining his left ankle for just over three minutes against Phoenix last Thursday.
Doncic, who is usually lively on the court, was particularly active in conversations with Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen.
“Since the first quarter, he was just chirping,” Doncic said. “I don’t want to say words. I’m fine with that. Basketball. Sure, it motivates me.”
The Mavericks (27-25) have moved up to sixth in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of the play-in positions of four teams.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 29 points, Sadiq Bey had 18 points (including five 3-pointers), and the Pistons (13-39) were 6-of-7.
Doncic’s final basket was a shot that bounced off the front rim to put Dallas ahead 109-105 with 46 seconds remaining. On the Pistons’ next possession, Bogdanovic missed his 3-pointer long near the right sideline in traffic, landing on the backside out of bounds.
“We thought Bojan was fouled,” Detroit manager Dwayne Casey said. “We put ourselves in situations to win, so you still have to play in all those situations and close out the game.” ”
The Pistons were called for 31 fouls to the Mavericks’ 18 fouls. Doncic was 18-14 at the free-throw line and Detroit was 27-19.
Detroit led 11 in the 3rd quarter and went 84-83 going into the 4th quarter. Dallas started the period on a 9-2 run with Doncic on the bench as Dinwiddie scored six points on the first three field goals of the game.
Dinwiddie’s 12 goals followed two of his highest scoring games of the season (36 and 35 without Doncic).
The Pistons shrugged off a 10-0 deficit in about three minutes to take their first lead with 4:41 playing in the first quarter. They led 57-53 at halftime.
one man band
Doncic scored 18 of the Dallas’ opening 20 points and 24 of the Mavericks’ 30 points in the first quarter. This season, at least he scored 20 points in his fourth quarter, and Brooklyn guard Kyrie tied Irving for his all-time NBA scoring record.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said, “I couldn’t ask for a better quarter.
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Pistons: Bogdanovic has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games. It is the longest streak of his career and ties with his fourth-longest active streak in the NBA. … averaging 17 minutes of reserves per game His guard Hamidou Diallo was sidelined with gastroenteritis.
Mavericks: Kidd said the team expects a medical update later this week on starting center Christian Wood, who has missed six straight games with a broken left thumb. …Theo Pinson was called for a technical foul on him late in the first quarter while sitting near the edge of the bench.
next
The Pistons: Start a three-game homestand Wednesday against Washington.
Mavericks: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
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