3 studs, 2 duds in Mavericks’ season opener win against Spurs

3. Stud - Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic came out in the season opener and showed NBA fans that Luka magic is a real thing.

Coming into this season, the Mavs needed two things from Doncic. First, they needed him to be more active on the defensive side of the floor. Secondly, the goal was to run the offense at a faster pace. Doncic completed both of those tasks in a massive win on Wednesday night against the Spurs.

The Spurs started out the game with a 6-0 lead, then Luka magic came down the court and hit his classic stepback 3-pointer. From there on out, it was the Luka show.

Doncic ended the game with 33 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. Late in the fourth quarter was when Doncic earned his 57th career triple-double off of a pass to star teammate, Kyrie Irving.

Doncic struggled in recent years with getting back on defense and complaining to the officials, but that was not the case tonight. He has clearly shown a big boost of maturity as he slowly becomes a veteran of this league.

Luka played the 3rd most minutes for the Mavericks in the win and had seen his playing time rotation get changed from what it looked like last season.

If Doncic continues to have games like this there’s no doubt in any fan's mind that he will make a big run for the 2023-24 MVP award.