Luka Doncic on Tuesday nailed two clutch three-pointers, including the game winner with one second left, to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a thrilling 110-107 victory over the Boston Celtics in Texas.
Doncic hit consecutive go-ahead three-pointers in the final 30 seconds, draining a step-back three-pointer with 15 seconds left to make it 107-105.
He repeated the feat by shooting a high-arching 9m shot over two Celtics defenders, with less than a second left to win it.
Photo: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY
The 21-year-old Slovenian finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, as the Mavericks earned their sixth win in seven games.
“It felt great. We needed this win badly,” Doncic said. “It is about finding the best shot and that is what happened today.”
Doncic’s winner came immediately after the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown made a layup to level the score in front of a pandemic-limited crowd of 3,300 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
“He’s just a very unique player, a very unique person,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Doncic. “The wiring of people like Luka Doncic ... it’s difficult to explain how their minds and their brains work.”
Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, while Brown had 29 and Jayson Tatum tallied 28 for Boston, who lost their second consecutive game.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, as the Bucks spoiled the coaching debut of Chris Finch with a 139-112 rout of the last-placed Minnesota Timberwolves.
Antetokounmpo was one of seven Bucks who scored in the double figures, as they won their third consecutive game.
Finch, hired on Monday to replace the fired Ryan Saunders, was previously an assistant coach with the Raptors.
Milwaukee’s eight-game home stand gets more difficult, as they next face the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans.
In Denver, Colorado, Nikola Jokic scored 41 points, while Jamal Murray had 19 of his 24 points in the final quarter, to lead the Nuggets in outgunning the Portland Trail Blazers 111-106.
Damian Lillard had 25 points and 13 assists, while Enes Kanter finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points, and Gary Trent Jr and Derrick Jones each scored 18 for the Trail Blazers.
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