- Doncic finished with one assist and one rebound for his 59th career triple-double
- Mark Cuban will still retain full control of the basketball operations despite the sale
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Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic had 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Dallas prevented the Houston Rockets from advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 121-115 victory on Tuesday night.
Doncic’s heroics came on the same night that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agreed to sell his majority stake in the team to Miriam Adelson for approximately $3.5 billion.
Once the sale is completed, Cuban will still retain full control of the franchise’s basketball operations.
Kyrie Irving added 22 of his 27 points in the second half for the already eliminated Mavericks. Their win allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to win Group B in the Western Conference with a 3-1 record.
Doncic fell just short of his 59th career triple-double. That would have tied him with Larry Bird for ninth all-time. He shot 15 of 29, 3 of 10 on three-pointers.
Mavericks’ Luka Doncic scored 41 points and nearly had a triple-double in the win over Houston
Mavs owner Mark Cuban sells his majority stake in the team to Miriam Adelson for $3.5 billion
Adelson (right) is the widow of the late billionaire Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands
“Sometimes we take him for granted, and we shouldn’t,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He wants to win, but he happens to run a triple-double.”
The Mavericks, who trailed by nine points in the third quarter, took the lead for good at 99-98 with 6:25 left, playing on an Irving drive. Leading 103-100 with 5:25 to go, they were on an 8-2 run, including three free throws from Derrick Jones Jr., when he was fouled by Dillon Brooks on a 25-footer and the shot clock was about to expire.
Jabari Smith Jr.’s 3-pointer with 8 seconds left the Rockets pulled within 119-115 before Dallas closed out the game.
Doncic played after suffering a mild left thumb sprain on his non-shooting hand early in Saturday’s game. He wore a shawl around his thumb.
Doncic made a hook shot from the free throw line after recovering a loose ball near the baseline.
“I’m on the hook 2 for 2 in my career,” Doncic said, saying the other came when he played for the Slovenian national team against Sweden.
Irving shot 2 for 11 in the first half, 1 for 5 on 3-pointers, with no free throw attempts. He was 6 for 11 in the second half, hitting 1 of 2 from behind the arc and sinking all nine free throws.
“I told the team, ‘I played good enough to win, not smart enough to win,’” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.
The loss to their in-state rivals left the Houston Rockets unable to advance in the NBA Cup
‘We were extra aggressive, especially at the end of the third quarter. If several players had made some stupid mistakes, put Kyrie on the line and get him started when he didn’t have much to do. Sure, you can be aggressive, but hitting someone in the arm with a three-point shot is an unwise action. It has nothing to do with aggression.’
Alperen Sengun had a season-best 31 points for the Rockets, who had six scorers in double figures. Fred VanVleet had 10 points and 12 assists.
The Rockets have lost all six of their road games this season. They started off leading the NBA by allowing an average of 104.4 points per game.
The Mavericks did not use the purpose-built field for any of their home tournament games as they were dissatisfied with the quality.