Orlando, Florida, Jan. 31 (BUS): Franz Wagner scored 18 points, including a tiebreaker 54 seconds ago, and the Orlando Magic beat Luka Doncic’s seventh hat-trick of the season to beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-108 on Sunday night.
Chuma Okeke scored a season-high 19 points and helped Orlando win back-to-back games for only the second time all season.
‘” said Okeke, who was robbed from Doncic in the late third quarter for overwhelm. “I’m going there confident, my colleagues believe in me and I believe in myself.”
Doncic finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Mavericks in a hat-trick of his career, equaling Fat Laver for the 10th place in NBA history, the Associated Press reported.
After landing twice in the final seconds, Dallas got the ball into Doncic’s hand, but gave it up under defensive pressure with 5.5 seconds left. The Maxi Clipper missed a triple pointer from the corner. Reggie Bullock’s trumpet comeback attempt was strong and ended Dallas’ two-game winning streak.
“He did everything right,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic’s decision to give up the ball in the last seconds. “This is what champions and leaders do – they trust that their teammates will do the right thing and shoot the ball. When that happens and we go forward, it will make the game a lot easier for him.”
Doncic said of his decision: “I am not going to shoot two because one is open. I think that was a good play and I will do it again.”
Dorian Finney-Smith had a chance to tie the game again after Wagner’s throw, but the Dallas forward converted only one of his two free throws with 34 seconds left.
Kleber then rebounded from Wagner’s error with 18.6 seconds remaining. Kidd said he screamed for a while, but referee Benny Adams didn’t listen. The ball was stolen from Clipper by Jalen Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. shared two free throws to give Orlando a two-point lead with 16.8 to play.
“It’s an unfortunate play – with the mask (which Kidd was wearing) Penny said he didn’t hear me call a timeout,” Kidd said. “This is unfortunate, because our defense gave us a chance.”
Cole Anthony added 16 points and six assists for Orlando, while Carter added 14 points and 14 rebounds to make his team a top 20 double this season.
Galen Bronson scored 15 points for Dallas, while Marquis Chris scored 14 points from the Dallas bench.
Wagner, the second highest-grossing player in the NBA with 15.7 points per game, picked up six points in the final quarter as the Magic rebounded in the final three minutes of the game.
“Now, even when we have two bad minutes, we pick them up faster and get back to the way we were playing,” Wagner said. “In these five games (at home), we are back to what makes us really good.”
Dallas was playing under 24 hours after beating Indiana 132-105 at home on Saturday. The Mavericks were without starting center Kristaps Porzingis, who did not travel due to inflammation in his right knee.
Orlando entered Sunday the 27th in the NBA with a 3-point shot, but made 9 of 16 attempts from outside the arc early and went 64-59 in the inning. Down 11 in the first quarter, Orlando outperformed Dallas 41-25 in the second quarter.
Hints
Mavericks: Dallas swept or split 24 straight two-game series with Magic. The last time Orlando swept Dallas was the 1998-99 season. …on Sunday, Doncic scored or assisted in Dallas’ first 11 points and 28 of 34 points in the first quarter.
Magic: Magic coach Jamal Mosley was an assistant coach with Dallas from 2014-2021. …Admiral Schofield returned with the Magic one night after collecting 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six three-pointers for the Lakeland Magic of the J-League. … Orlando improved to 5-18 at home on Sunday, with three home wins from five games.
next one
Mavericks: Host Oklahoma City Wednesday night.
Magic: In Chicago on a Tuesday night.