Mavericks: Luka Doncic has first triple-double of season in win vs. Rockets

Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic has first triple-double of the season in win over Rockets

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic missed Monday’s game in Chicago, but he returned for the second night of a back-to-back against the Houston Rockets.

Coach Rick Carlisle decided to change up his starting five on Tuesday by inserting Maxi Kleber and Willie Cauley-Stein for Dwight Powell and Tim Hardaway Jr. Dallas was hoping to improve their defense and match up better against the Rockets. The Mavs were thankful to have Luka back in the starting five as well.

Doncic showed no signs of the quad injury as he went off for his first triple-double of the season against the Rockets. Check out his best plays from Tuesday’s game here.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic nets 33 in win over Rockets

Doncic handed out the 1,000th assist of his career on the Mavs’ first bucket in Houston. See the play here.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1346264900167999490

Luka was looking for his shot early. He drilled two 3-pointers on his way to 12 points. Doncic also produced five rebounds and one assist as he played all 12 first-quarter minutes. The Mavericks scored 33 points and held a 12-point lead after one.

A Rockets run forced Luka back into the game by 6:53 left in the second as the Mavs advantage shrunk to two points. He showed off his deep 3-point range in the quarter.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1346277883405344768

Doncic had 20 points, eight rebounds, and two assists at halftime against the Rockets. He was seven of 14 from the field including three 3-pointers made. The 21-year-old superstar had the offense rolling as the Mavericks scored 61 first-half points and had a 12-point advantage.

Next: Second half