Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic comes up big in win over Houston Rockets

After what looked like a loss during the fourth quarter, the Dallas Mavericks rally back in the final four minutes to beat the Houston Rockets 107-104 on Dec. 8.

In what was a tight game throughout, the Dallas Mavericks prevailed in the final minutes of action led by the rookie that acts like a veteran Mister Luka Doncic.

Houston did not let the game go that easy, though. Both teams never led by more than eight points, and it seemed like every shot by the Mavericks led to one by the Rockets. Houston led by eight points as it was 100-92 with only 4:08 left to go.

Chris Paul and James Harden were the main contributors for the Rockets.

Paul dropped 23 points and eight assists on 50 percent shooting from the field.

Harden’s night didn’t start off so easily. Six minutes into the game Harden already had three fouls and had to sit out for the rest of the first quarter and parts of the second. He finished with a tremendous 35 points and eight assists and shot 37 percent from behind the arc.

As for the Dallas Mavericks, let’s look over some notes from this good feeling win.

Luka shows up late

In what seemed like a second straight horrendous game, Doncic arrived in the final minutes to deliver Houston their third straight loss. Through three quarters, Doncic had just ten points on three of 12 shooting from the field.

Doncic then went on to score 11 points in the final three minutes of action, including the game-winning step back three over Clint Capela. He also had seven rebounds. Three of which were offensive boards.

If it weren’t for the late stretch effort, it looked like this would be another tough game for the rookie. It seemed that the entire Rockets defense had their attention focused on him, creating problems. Doncic needs to create more openings to continue his torrid season pace.

Jordan with another big night

DeAndre Jordan showed out tonight, dropping 12 points and 20 rebounds, this being his third 20-plus rebounds game this season. This was also Jordan’s 15th double-double for the Mavs, and it’s only the beginning of December.

From the 20 rebounds, nine were offensive rebounds. It seems as if he and Capela were in a duel. The challenge was to see who could grab more boards, with Jordan winning by a significant margin.

Jordan’s actually averaging 11 points per game and nearly 14 rebounds to go along with what is now a usual 75 percent shooting from the free throw line. He is being the big man force the Mavericks have needed for years.

Brunson shines in DSJ’s absence

In the second straight game where Dennis Smith Jr. was out with a wrist sprain, fans saw a tremendous increase in minutes for the second round rookie. In 30 minutes of action, Brunson had 14 points and three assists while shooting an outstanding 77 percent from the field. He also added three steals in what was likely his best game this season.

With the majority of minutes going to Smith Jr, Barea, and Harris, Mavs fans just haven’t seen enough of Brunson. There is a lot of potential in the four-year Villanova rookie, and yet we still haven’t seen the best of it.

Watch for some explosive games throughout the season from Brunson and you won’t be surprised by what you see.

Next Game

The Dallas Mavericks continue the homestead as they host the Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m. CT on Monday night, Dec. 10.

Fans will get to see the first appearance of Mo Bamba at the American Airlines Center, who’s averaging six points and four rebounds per game.