Dallas Mavericks: James Harden on Luka Doncic after the Mavs win

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Rockets in their first meeting of the year. Here is what James Harden had to say about Luka Doncic after the game.

The Dallas Mavericks continued their stellar play on Wednesday. They made it three straight victories by going to Houston and defeating the Rockets. The Mavs pushed their record to 10-9 on the season, and into a playoff position for the first time in a while.

The 128-108 blowout victory was quite impressive. The Rockets are just months removed from being a made basket away from reaching the NBA Finals. That gives the Mavericks a win over three of the four conference finals teams in their last five games, an outstanding accomplishment for any NBA team.

Luka Doncic only played 24 minutes and did not play a second in the fourth quarter, but that did not stop him from having another strong game. He netted 20 points with six rebounds, two assists, three 3-pointers made, one steal, and four turnovers. Doncic was six of 11 from the field and a perfect five of five on his free throws.

It was the first meeting of the season between the Texas state rivals. It marked the first of many matchups between Luka and perennial MVP candidate James Harden. Harden had a triple-double against Dallas. Here is what he had to say after the game about Doncic courtesy of Tim MacMahon.

The Mavericks rookie continues to impress everyone in the NBA. Doncic is averaging 19.1 points per game after 19 games as a 19-year-old. He is shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 39.8 percent on 3-pointers, and 79.5 percent from the foul line. Luka is proving himself faster than anyone expected in the NBA.

Final thoughts

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets on Nov. 28. After the game, James Harden offered some short and sweet praise to Mavs rookie Luka Doncic. Doncic is quickly gaining the respect of his peers, and it is fascinating to watch.

Next up, the Mavericks travel to Los Angeles to face LeBron and the Lakers. Luka will once again face off against his childhood idol. Fans are not going to want to miss the action or the content on The Smoking Cuban following the game, so please check back to us.