LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Slovenia’s Luka Doncic continued his otherworldly start to the NBA season, scoring 41 points as the Dallas Mavericks won their fifth straight with a 137-123 victory over the slumping Houston Rockets.
Doncic, whose remarkable start has his per-game averages at near triple-double levels, also had 10 assists and six rebounds while Rockets superstar James Harden finished with 32 points and 11 assists in a showdown of dominant scorers.
His fellow European sidekick Kristaps Porzingis, of Latvia, also recorded a double-double on Sunday with 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks led wire-to-wire for the victory.
Tim Hardaway scored 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including five of 11 on three-pointers in the win in front of a crowd of 18,050 at the Toyota Center arena.
The Rockets dropped their third straight game following an eight-game winning streak. Houston had their moments when they came close to forging a tie but they always fell just short.
Dallas shot 48 percent overall and hit 17 of 44 three-pointers. The Rockets finished 10 of 44 from beyond the arc as Harden alone missed 13 of the 15 three-pointers he attempted.
The Rockets opened the game with three turnovers on their first three possessions, fuelling the Mavericks’ 7-0 start.
Clint Capela recorded his sixth 20-rebound game in seven starts, pairing 22 boards with 21 points.
Russell Westbrook added 27 points, while P.J. Tucker and Danuel House scored 16 points apiece.
© Agence France-Presse
