Luka Doncic warms up before the Dallas Mavericks play the Detroit Pistons.
© 2019 Miss Ari Photography
DALLAS - In front of a Friday night sellout crowd, Rookie of the Year frontrunner Luka Doncic helped the Mavericks to a 106-101 victory over Detroit.
Doncic scored at will throughout the night, scoring a total of 32 points on nine of 19 shooting in his 35 minutes of play. He also added eight assists and eight total rebounds to his stat line, making him only the third teenager in NBA history to document 32/8/8 in a game.
While Doncic led the Mavericks in scoring, on the other side Blake Griffin was piecing together a brilliant performance for the Pistons. In just under 40 minutes on the court, Griffin had a game-high 35 points and scored on 50 percent shooting.
Andre Drummond added 23 points and 15 rebounds.
“I wish I could play Blake and Andre and those guys 48 minutes, but we can’t,” said Detroit Coach Dwane Casey. “So, we just have to get some production out of our bench.”
Along with Doncic’s stellar performance, Dennis Smith Jr. added 19 points. DeAndre Jordan also had 13 points and 11 rebounds, as he was tasked with defending both Drummond and Griffin.
When asked about Jordan’s defensive presence on Drummond and Griffin, Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle shared how pleased he was with Jordan’s effectiveness in guarding both big men. “He gave length, he gave strength, he gave a different look and he made it difficult on Blake.”
Rick Carlisle’s bench did not disappoint Friday night. Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dwight Powell contributed 24 points and very valuable minutes.
Kleber’s four three pointers and two big blocks on Drummond and Griffin proved extremely important in the second half.
“I just have to believe in my shot and I just have to keep shooting,” says Kleber. “I’m here to space the floor too, so if I get the ball and I’m open, I have to shoot it.”
Dallas plays Toronto on Sunday. Detroit has the next three days off.