Luka Doncic scored 36 points, becoming only the second NBA player ever with nine consecutive games of at least 30 to begin the season, as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 on Monday night.
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 18 points and Josh Green had 16 for the Mavericks, who have won four straight games.
Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Nets, who led by 14 points eight minutes in. Cam Thomas scored 19 points, Royce O’Neal had 15 and Joe Harris added 14.
Doncic joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to score 30 or more points in the first nine games of a season. Chamberlain did it in the first 23 games of 1962-63.
Doncic played 38 minutes and passed the 30-point mark on a step-back 3-pointer with 3 seconds left on the shot clock with 7:54 remaining in the fourth period to pull Dallas to 78-77.
That began a 14-0 Mavericks run - including a technical foul on Durant followed by him jawing at the Dallas bench – for an 88-78 lead with five minutes left.
The Nets pulled to 92-91 on Thomas' 3-pointer with 25.3 seconds left. Doncic made two free throws with 13.8 seconds to play for a three-point lead. Durant was fouled on the dribble with 11 seconds to go and pulled Brooklyn to 94-93 with two free throws. Finney-Smith hit two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to push Dallas' lead to 96-93.
Brooklyn inbounded with 6.7 seconds left and Durant was fouled by Reggie Bullock while attempting a 3-pointer. Durant hit the first but rimmed out the second. He intentionally missed the third free throw, and Dallas came away with the ensuing scramble for the ball.
Brooklyn fell to 2-2 under acting coach Jacque Vaughn following the firing of Steve Nash last Tuesday, and 2-1 following the suspension of Kyrie Irving last Thursday.
Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and Jordan Clarkson fired in 22 as the Utah Jazz beat the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers 139-116 Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Collin Sexton contributed 17 points while Mike Conley added 14 points and 12 assists as the Jazz won their third straight game. Utah, which had seven score in double digits, defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on the road Sunday night 110-102 before returning home.
Anthony Davis netted a game-high 29 points and Russell Westbrook added 22 for the Lakers, who lost their third consecutive outing. Los Angeles played without three usual starters, including LeBron James, who sat out due to left foot soreness. It was the first time James missed a game this season.
Utah, by earning its second victory over the Lakers in four nights, grabbed sole possession of the top spot in the Western Conference at 9-3. The Jazz also improved their home record to 5-0.
Clarkson got the Jazz off to a hot start, scorching the nets for 15 points in the first quarter as Utah seized a 42-34 lead. The Jazz shot 68.4% in the opening period en route to hitting 56.4% for the night.
Westbrook kept the Lakers within striking distance in the first half, when he scored 18 points and helped trim the Jazz's double-digit lead down to 76-71 heading into halftime. Davis had 19 points before the break, while Clarkson topped Utah with 17.
Utah also scored 75 points in the opening half during the teams' Friday meeting in Los Angeles.
The Jazz quickly took a 10-point lead in the second half after long jumpers by Markkanen and Malik Beasley (14 points). Davis brought the Lakers within 92-85 with a three-point play, but the Jazz then dominated.
Former Laker Talen Horton-Tucker (15 points) emphatically capped off a 16-5 run with a thunderous dunk that gave the Jazz their biggest lead at the point, 108-90, late in the third quarter.
The Lakers responded with six straight, but Utah finished the quarter on a 7-2 spurt, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Rudy Gay for an impressive 115 points through three quarters.
Patrick Beverley (non-COVID-19 illness) and Lonnie Walker IV (non-COVID-19 illness) also missed the game for the Lakers, who dropped to 0-4 on the road.
