By CNN
—
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Luka Dončić became the first player in NBA history to record a 35+ point triple-double in four straight games as his side outlasted the Miami Heat, 114-108, on Thursday.
Dončić posted 35 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to earn a hard-fought Dallas victory in front of their home crowd. The 25-year-old shot 50% from the floor during the game and made seven of his 13 three-point attempts as the Mavs battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first quarter.
While the impressive stat line is an added bonus, Dončić and the Mavericks will draw most of their satisfaction from being able to get back in the win column.
Despite Dončić’s stat sheet heroics across the previous three games against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers, Dallas was on the losing side in each of those matches.
Thursday’s victory snapped the skid and moved the Mavs to 35-28 on the season.
“It’s great, especially when it comes with a win,” Dončić said after the game.
“That’s all that matters right now.”
The Slovenian superstar also recorded his fifth straight game with a 30+ point triple-double, tying a record set by Russell Westbrook while playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.
“We can’t take that young man for granted,” Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said about his squad’s talisman, per the Mavericks. “You’re seeing something as rare as a Picasso. Every night, he does something.”
One of the highlights from Dončić’s stellar night came halfway through the fourth quarter with Miami leading 97-95.
The suffocating Heat defense, led by All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, had almost forced a stop as the ball came loose with the shot clock winding down.
Kyrie Irving recovered possession and found Dončić on the wing with his back to the basket. Somehow he heaved up a heavily contested turnaround three-pointer and found the bottom of the bucket as the shot clock expired to restore Dallas’ lead.
“Those are shots I like, shots I practice,” said Dončić, who is leading the league in scoring at 34.6 points per game. “Once I let it go, I knew it was going in. It felt good. I was pretty confident it was going in.”
Eight-time All-Star Irving added 23 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Mavericks, who occupy the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed, good enough for a spot in the Play-In tournament.
Dallas will be aiming to secure an automatic playoff berth in the hotly contested Western Conference however, with only five games separating the No. 5 and 10 seeds.
Meanwhile Miami, currently seeded sixth in the East, drop to 35-27. It was a disappointing loss for the 2023 Finals runner-up after coming into the matchup having won seven of its last eight games.
“They made theirs and we missed some on our end,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game.
“There’s some things we could have done to make things a little bit tougher for them, to protect the paint, a lot of that is on me.”
Terry Rozier, acquired via trade from the Charlotte Hornets earlier in the season, led the way for Miami with 27 points, 11 assists and six rebounds with sharpshooter Duncan Robinson adding 19 points.
The Heat head to OKC to take on the Thunder on Friday, while the Mavericks visit the struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
