Luka Doncic beats Spurs with another insane statline

Luka Doncic looks like he could actually make a case for Most Improved Player, because he’s certainly elevating his play above the stellar rookie season that made him a household name.

He carried the Mavericks to a 117-110 win over their in-state rivals the Spurs with another virtuoso performance, with 42 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists while shooting 14 of 27 from the field. That’s his SIXTH triple double, which means he’s currently putting one up in 50% of his games. His Euro Duo partner Kristaps Porzingis chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while third year player Dorian Finney-Smith scored 22 as well.

It was a spoiler for DeMar Derozan, who had an otherwise excellent game for the Spurs with 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 14 of 20 from the field plus 8 of 8 from the free throw line.

He’s really looking and sounding the part of a veteran leader, which isn’t surprising since he’s been a pro since the age of 16 and was the youngest-ever Euroleague MVP.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden put out the Blazers

The Rockets are REALLY rolling now. They’re putting pressure on the Lakers at the top of the Western Conference with an 11-3 record, only half a game behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

James Harden led the team in scoring with 36 points, along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but Westbrook had his third triple double of the season with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. They’re really showing all of the doubters, with this author included, that they can play winning basketball together even though both are ball dominant guards. Clint Capela put up another excellent night on the boards again, too, with 20 points and 20 rebounds.

It remains to be seen how the Blazers will finish the season, because they’re truly struggling. CJ McCollum managed to score 25 but Damian Lillard was only able to score 13 points. Their issues go far beyond scoring though, and how Carmelo Anthony will help them win is still hanging in the air. If the Blazers continue to have problems they might try to shake things up before the end of this campaign.

What’s up with Kawhi Leonard? The Clippers almost lose without him.

There’s load management, and then there’s a real worry about whether or not Kawhi Leonard is hurting more than they’re letting on. The 28-year-old star missed his third straight game for the LA Clippers with a left knee contusion, which Doc Rivers says keeps him as a day-to-day decision. His absence may start being a big problem for his team, especially since the plan is to keep Paul George playing in limited minutes (24 vs. the Pelicans, 20 vs. the Hawks, and 29 vs. the Thunder).

The Thunder played a good first half, taking a 47-42 lead into the break. That was nullified in the third, though, with a balanced Clippers team effort translating into a 66-64 lead heading into the fourth. The Thunder then put up a great performance to close out the fourth quarter, taking an 88-86 lead with 31.3 seconds left and setting up a lot of late-game drama. They unfortunately weren’t able to hold on.

The Clippers are undoubtedly filled with good supporting pieces, but they’re not going to contend without their two stars. Fans can only hope that George can continue to increase his minutes while Leonard sits. However, he’s also going to have relatively quiet nights like tonight with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists along with 7 turnovers. He did hit the go-ahead three, though, adding to his resume as a clutch player.

A ticky tacky foul with 7.3 seconds left was overturned after a challenge from Doc Rivers. George then came up with the final rebound after a missed shot. He then sunk a free throw then missed intentionally to run down the clock for an ugly 90-88 victory.

This is where Leonard really would come in handy. The Clippers really shouldn’t be finding themselves in so many tough positions against lesser teams, but that is a regular occurrence in their games so far.

Montrezl Harrell continues to show an excellent all-around game this season. He was by far the best player on the floor with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and provided invaluable defense for the Clippers again.

The Clippers finished the game with a strange statistic too: none of their entire starting five finished with a plus/minus ratings (George had +0 while the rest were negative), while the bench all finished with a positive rating.

Other results

Bucks def. Bulls 115-101, Raptors def. Hornets 132-96, Pacers def. Nets 115-86, Knicks def. Cavs 123-105, Wolves def. Jazz 112-102, Celtics def. Suns 99-85