Luka Doncic leads Dallas Mavericks to second round in Strat-O-Matic sim

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic scored 20 points to lead his team to victory in game seven over the Denver Nuggets in the Strat-O-Matic simulation.

The Dallas Mavericks would be playing playoff basketball right now in a normal season. The first round games happen fast and furious as NBA fans know. The Mavs would be fighting to advance. The novel coronavirus suspended play, and everyone is left waiting to see if games can return this season.

Strat-O-Matic decided to do a simulation to crown a champion in the 2019-2020 season. They are doing each game on the day it would have happened. The Mavericks finished seventh in Western Conference and had a first round date with the Denver Nuggets.

The two teams split the first two games in Denver. With the series in Dallas, the Mavs won game three before dropping game four to even it up. After taking game five in Denver, the Mavericks had a shot to close out the series at home. They could not make it happen. The series went to a deciding game seven on Saturday. Here is what happened.

Luka leads Mavs to victory

The Nuggets were at home and built a massive early lead. The Mavericks were down by 16 points at the half. Their season looked to be over, but they did not give up. Dallas slowly chipped away at the deficit before closing out strong to force overtime. The Mavs never led by more than two points, but they walked away with the 120-119 win after the extra session.

Luka Doncic finished with 20 points, ten rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. He was named Player of the Game. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks in scoring with 23. Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 18 points and six blocks to help Dallas reach the second round. They have not done that since winning the championship in 2011.

The Dallas Mavericks will face the LA Clippers in the second round of the Strat-O-Matic simulation. The Clips have homecourt, but the Mavs won three of their four road games in the first round. It is anyone’s series. Stay tuned for updates.