"Picasso when you give him the paint brush, he's going to do something special, and that shot was special." - Coach Kidd on Luka's underhand circus shot
Luka Doncic kills Houston Rockets play-in hopes with Dallas Mavericks victory
NBAMonday, 01 April 2024 at 04:07
In this battle of Texas, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks easily defeated the Houston Rockets 125-107 at Toyota Center to put a damper on their play-in hopes.
The 25-year-old finished with an amazing 47 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals with 9 three-pointers for the Mavs. Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 7 assists while Dante Exum scored 13 points on 100% shooting off the bench. PJ Washington provided 12 points and Daniel Gafford contributed 6 points with 1 steal and 5 blocks.
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Jabari Smith Jr. led the Rockets with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks with 5 makes from downtown. Fred VanVleet had 10 points with 7 assists while Aaron Holiday scored 16 points off the bench. Cam Whitmore provided 13 bench points but it was a struggle for Jalen Green who shot just 5/15 from the field and totaled 12 points.
Dallas improves to 45-29 with this win and move up to the 5th seed in the West. After fighting most of the season to escape the play-in, the Mavs have now moved into a top 6 seed and has a chance to potentially finish in the top 4 if everything works out.
Regardless if that happens or not, this team is looking good and seems like they will avoid the play-in which is what their goal was. This is now 7 wins in a row and 9-1 over their last 10, and their next matchup will be on Tuesday against the Warriors.
Houston drops to 38-36 with this loss and now sit 2 games behind Golden State for the 10th seed. It was an unfortunate day for the Rockets as they lost and the Dubs won, which increased the gap between the 2 squads for the final play-in spot. This loss snaps an 11-game winning streak and they’ll look to bounce back on Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves to keep their postseason dreams alive.
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