Head Coach: Rick Carlisle (12th Season)
Record: 40-27 (7th in Western Conference)
All-Stars: 1 (Luka Doncic – 1st)
Scoring Leaders: Luka Doncic (28.7 PPG), Kristaps Porzingis (19.2 PPG), Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.8 PPG)
Rebounding Leaders: Porzingis (9.5 RPG), Doncic (9.3 RPG), Dwight Powell (5.7 RPG)
Assists Leaders: Doncic (8.7 APG), J.J. Barea (3.8 APG), Delon Wright (3.4 APG)
Offense: 116.4 Points Scored/Game (3rd)
Defense: 110.3 Points Allowed/Game (15th)
Key Wins: Bucks (120-116, Dec. 16), Lakers (114-100, Dec. 1), Nuggets x2 (109-106, Oct. 29; 113-97, Mar. 11), Raptors (110-102, Nov. 16), 76ers x2 (117-98, Dec. 20; 109-91, Jan. 11), Rockets (137-123, Nov. 24), Pacers (112-103, Feb. 3), Thunder (107-97, Jan. 27)
Season Summary: Luka-Mania has reached a fever pitch this season, as second-year star Luka Doncic has become one of the league’s very best players. Doncic’s name shows up everywhere on the stat sheet, and he ranks first or second on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists. The 21-year-old leads the league in triple-doubles with 14, and has already recorded more 30-point triple-doubles before the age of 22 than LeBron James (5), Oscar Robertson (3) and Magic Johnson (2) combined.
Kristaps Porzingis has been excellent in a comeback season, averaging 19.2 points and 9.5 rebounds in his first season in Dallas. The 24-year-old forward missed all of last season while recovering from an ACL injury, and was traded to the Mavericks from the Knicks last January. At 40-27, Dallas currently sits seven games up on Memphis for the No. 7 spot in the West. The Mavs take more 3-pointers than all but one team in the NBA, and find themselves in prime position to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Memorable Moment: Just call them the streak-busters. Not only did the Mavs knock off the NBA’s two best teams on the road, they ended two long winning streaks in doing so. On Dec. 1, the Mavericks went into Los Angeles and ended the West-leading Lakers’ 10-game winning streak with an impressive 114-100 victory. Luka Doncic went for 27 points and 10 assists in that game. A couple of weeks later, Dallas flew to Milwaukee and toppled the East-leading Bucks, 120-116, ending their 18-game winning streak. And oh yeah– they did that without Doncic, who missed the game with a sprained right ankle.
Player to Watch: Luka Doncic – It’s got to be Doncic, right? We’ve already spoken a lot about Luka, but here are some more stats to help put his burgeoning career in perspective: In just his second season in Dallas, Doncic already owns the Mavericks’ franchise record for triple-doubles (he passed Jason Kidd with his 10th of the season back on Jan. 7). He also surpassed Michael Jordan for the longest streak of 20-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist games by anyone other than Oscar Robertson. That stretch came to an end at 20, after Doncic sprained his ankle in December. Luka currently ranks fourth in the NBA in assists (8.7 APG) and fourth in player efficiency rating (27.75).
