Luka Doncic on Tuesday delivered a monster triple-double performance as the Dallas Mavericks bagged their first win of the NBA’s relaunched season in an overtime thriller against the Sacramento Kings.
The 21-year-old Slovenian scored 34 points, with 20 rebounds and 12 assists as the Mavericks completed a 114-110 victory to get their campaign back on track in the Western Conference.
Tim Hardaway Jr and Kristaps Porzingis also came up big with 22 points apiece, as the Mavericks overturned an 11-point deficit to seal a victory at the HP Field House on the NBA’s campus in Orlando, Florida.
Photo: AP
Doncic’s masterclass made him the youngest player in NBA history to score a 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double.
“It wasn’t our best game — far from that,” Doncic said. “We fought, we hung in there, we helped each other, we never gave up — we needed that win and you can never count us out for sure.”
“Nothing came easy in this game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle added. “It was a struggle and everybody kept everybody together and we just kept saying: ‘Hey, we’re going to find a way,’ and guys were encouraging each other — really a well-deserved win for our guys.”
The win saw the Mavericks, who have already been guaranteed a playoff place, improve to 41-29 in the Western Conference.
However, Sacramento’s chances of sneaking into the post-season remain slim. The Kings have lost all three of their games since the league restarted and are 13th in the West, on the brink of elimination.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns continued their hot streak in Orlando with a third straight victory to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 117-115.
Devin Booker was the hero for Phoenix, scoring on the buzzer to cap a 35-point display and a dramatic win over the highly rated Clipper.
Booker, who was mobbed by teammates as he fell backward on the court, also had four rebounds and eight assists.
The 23-year-old was one of five Phoenix players to finish in double figures, with Deandre Ayton (19 points) and Ricky Rubio (18) the pick of the other Suns scorers.
The win keeps Phoenix’s hopes of forcing their way into the postseason alive. The Suns are within a game of ninth place and firmly in the hunt to earn a place in the play-in tournament.
“Our guys just grew up tonight to play against a team that possibly could win a championship,” Phoenix coach Monty Williams said.
Booker said that Phoenix could be the surprise package of the post-season.
“Coming into the bubble overall, we said we want to make some noise,” Booker said. “We want to be that under-the-radar team that just comes in and works hard and plays hard. That’s what we did tonight.”
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was