The Dallas Mavericks began a three-game road trip against the Golden State Warriors with a comfortable 20-point win (141-121) at the Chase Center.
This was the Mavs' second win against the Dubs this season, after previously defeating them by 48 points (142-94) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
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Trailing by two points at the half, the Mavs blew the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 45-24.
Here are the key takeaways from their big win.
Luka back to making...and breaking history
In 30:05 minutes played, Doncic recorded 31 points (8-16 FG's; 5-8 3P; 10-10 FT's), 15 assists, and 12 rebounds. This was his ninth triple-double of the season, surpassing his tally of 8 from his rookie campaign and tying Jason Kidd (1995-96) for the most triple-doubles in a single season in franchise history.
He also became the first person in NBA history to record multiple 30-point triple-doubles in 30 or fewer minutes played.
At age 20, Luka Doncic is the youngest player in @NBAHistory to record multiple 30-point/15-assist games in a season. The previous youngest was Michael Jordan in 1984-85: Jordan was 21 years old for his first such game and 22 years old for his second. pic.twitter.com/0IOiGpbuwx
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) December 29, 2019
This was the first triple-double he recorded since returning from an ankle injury. In his sixth career contest against the Warriors, this is his third consecutive triple-double against them - all coming before the respective fourth quarters began.
Mavs blow it open in the 3rd
At the half, the Mavericks trailed by two points (74-72) but then they dominated the third period to eventually register an easy win.
In the third quarter, they outscored the Warriors 21 (45-24). The Mavericks knocked down seven 3-pointers (58.3%) while shooting 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the field and going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Playing all 12 minutes of the quarter, Doncic had six points, eight assists and four rebounds in the third - contributing to 25 of the team's 45 points for the period.
The Mavericks eventually finished with a franchise-record 24 three-pointers, knocking those down at a clip of 47.1%.
🎥: And here's every single one... Don't blink. #MFFL pic.twitter.com/npZgFS2PtK
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 29, 2019
After Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr. was the Mavericks' next highest scorer as he knocked down 18 of his 25 points from beyond the arc (6-8 3PT).
Russell shines again but Dubs can't complete comeback
A day earlier, led by D'Angelo Russell's 31 points, the Warriors completed a 13-point comeback in the fourth quarter against the Suns. However, against the Mavericks, the 21-point deficit to start the fourth quarter was far too much for them to overcome.
En route to scoring 121, the Warriors also received 34 points (12-24 FG's) from the duo of Damion Lee and Alec Burks, but it wasn't enough.
Russell had 30 of his 31 points in the first half of the game. He joined Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry as the only Warriors in franchise history to have eight or more 3-pointers in the first half.
D'Angelo Russell has the highest scoring half of his career with 30 points (11-of-14 FG, 8-of-10 3FG). It's his eighth 30-point game of the season (29th career) and third in the last four games.
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) December 29, 2019
After a scary injury, he did return to the Warriors' bench but never checked back into the game, given that it was a blowout by the time he was back.
D'Angelo Russell gets up and walks to the locker room after being down for several minutes. So great to see pic.twitter.com/yPeUGjnOKB
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) December 29, 2019
He was made available to return after what was initially reported a right shoulder contusion.
