DALLAS — Luka Doncic scored 35 points, his eighth straight 30-plus game to start the season, as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 111-110 on Friday night.
The only other NBA player to score 30 or more points in the first eight games of a season was Wilt Chamberlain, who did so in the first eight of the 1959-60 season and the first 23 of 1962-63 .
Doncic played 37 minutes and topped the 30-point mark with 18.7 seconds left in the third quarter on a turnover jumper. It was a balanced night for the 23-year-old superstar: 10 for 15 from the floor, 3 for 6 from downtown, 12 for 14 from the free throw line, eight rebounds and six assists.
This included an assist on a spinning move through a double team, a basket after a flurry of dribbling between his legs, a hook to cap the 16-2 run early in the second half and the floater at the end of the third period.
“He did everything tonight,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Did he cross his legs eight times? When he pulled that little float, I just laughed because only he can do that.
“He surprises a lot of people. I wonder if he surprises himself sometimes.
Is he?
“Yeah, sometimes,” Doncic said with a smile. “The best game was my hook shot. These games are fun. Later, you see them on TV. Everybody talks about it.”
Doncic leads the NBA in averaging 36.0 points per game with 8.6 assists in 36.6 minutes.
The Raptors cut a 19-point third-quarter deficit to 108-105 with 35.5 seconds left. Doncic sank the first of two free throws with 15.9 seconds left to take a four-point lead. OG Anunoby drove for a dunk with 11 seconds left. Spencer Dinwiddie had two free throws with 3 seconds left to make it 111-107. Anunoby hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Dinwiddie had 21 points and seven assists for the Mavericks, who have won three straight games after sharing their first six.
Anunoby scored 27 points, Pascal Siakam 18 and Chris Boucher 17 off the Raptors bench. Siakam left the game in the third quarter with what coach Nick Nurse said was likely a groin injury.
DINWIDDIE CALLS AN OFFICIAL
Dinwiddie, called for a technical foul in the final minute of the second period, said a teammate told him the official, Tony Brothers, described him with several swear words.
“NBA, I would really like my money back,” Dinwiddie said. “If there’s anyone who feels that way for me…they can come to me personally, face to face.”
“I need to talk to Spencer,” Kidd said. “When you look at Tony, what he’s done in this league as a referee, he’s highly regarded and also one of the best we have. It’s a sensitive topic.”
TIPS
Raptors: They had 10 interceptions, nearly matching their league-leading 10.8 per game, but only outscored the Mavericks 27-26 in points on turnovers. … G Fred VanVleet, fourth in the NBA in steals, missed his third straight game with a stiff lower back. Nurse said he thinks VanVleet will play after completing a full practice on Thursday. “I expect him to be back very soon,” Nurse said.
Mavericks: C Toronto native Dwight Powell made his second start of the season, replacing JaVale McGee in the starting lineup. Powell had nine points and two rebounds in 26 minutes.
NEXT
Raptors: Begin a home run with Chicago on Sunday.
Mavericks: Host Brooklyn on Monday.
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