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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — Luka Doncic didn’t give a whole lot of thought to his latest historic feat.
Doncic recorded his fourth consecutive 35-point triple-double Thursday night while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 114-108 home win over the Miami Heat, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook for the longest such streak in NBA history. It was Doncic’s fifth straight triple-double, scoring at least 30 points in each, which only Westbrook had previously accomplished.
“It’s great, especially when it comes with the win,” Doncic said, brushing off the topic after his 35-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance. “That’s all that matters right now.”
It was a much-needed win for the Mavericks, who lost the previous three games despite Doncic’s individual brilliance and had dropped five of their past six.
Dallas (35-28) had to fight back from a 15-point deficit after a revamped starting lineup — plugging in center Daniel Gafford and wing Derrick Jones Jr. in place of Dereck Lively II and Josh Green — failed to immediately solve the problems that have resulted in the Mavs ranking last in the league in defensive efficiency since the All-Star break. Dallas made drastic improvements in that area the rest of the night, holding the Heat to 25 or fewer points in the final three quarters.
Doncic, the NBA’s scoring leader, continued his trend of putting up preposterous numbers, frequently in spectacular fashion. The highlight of his outing was hitting a tightly contested, turnaround 3-pointer that put the Mavs ahead midway through the fourth quarter on a possession when he received the ball with two seconds remaining on the shot clock.
“Those are shots I like,” said Doncic, who was 12-of-24 from the floor and 7-of-13 from 3-point range. “Once I let it go, I knew it was going in.”
So did his Dallas teammates, who routinely witness Doncic hit shots with a high degree of difficulty, whether in game action or while attempting trick shots.
“Come on, I trust him to kick the ball from the other side of the court,” said Lively, who had a game-best plus-17 plus-minus in 23 minutes off the bench and was a major defensive factor during crunch time. “It’s going to go in.”
This was Doncic’s 15th triple-double of the season and the 71st of his six-year career, which already ranks ninth in NBA history.
Doncic has averaged a triple-double — 36.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists — over his past 23 games.
“It’s insane,” said forward P.J. Washington, who arrived in Dallas from Charlotte in a trade deadline deal. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, he’s one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen play and just to be on his team, I think it’s special. So just cherish every moment.”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd, who scored at least 35 points in only two of his 107 triple-doubles during his career, had a pregame discussion with fellow Hall of Famer and TNT color commentator Reggie Miller about how Doncic’s scoring ability compares to Michael Jordan’s.
“I’ve always said this: We can’t take that young man for granted,” Kidd said. “You’re seeing something as rare as a Picasso.”
Kidd then shifted the focus from Doncic’s dominance to his on-court composure, a facet of the game that has been one of the perennial MVP candidates’ biggest flaws. Kidd grinned as he noted that Doncic, whose 13 technical fouls this season is three shy of the threshold for an automatic one-game suspension, has not received a technical in the past two games.
“We’re rolling,” Kidd said, half-joking. “You talk about the triple-double streak. I think we’ve got the no-T streak going, so that’s something we have to talk about, too. I think he has a little bit more energy now and I think his composure is in a really good place, no matter winning or losing. He loves to win. He wants to win, but I think you’re starting to see him turn the corner here.”