3 things from an exciting Mavericks’ win over the Kings, 127-123

The Mavericks continued a successful road trip grabbing a 127-123 victory in California’s capital late Wednesday night. De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 27 points, while Luka stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points and a career high 17 assists.

Dallas was once again missing their star big man Kristaps Porzingis, who was a late scratch less than 40 minutes before tip off. Before fans could wipe the disappointment off their face the game got off to a quick start -- both teams trading baskets and playing little defense. Thanks to a fiery second quarter from Seth Curry and NINE first half Luka assists, the Mavericks held a slim 71-67 lead after an exciting first half.

The Mavericks came out of the gate firing in the second half, with Luka wrapping up a triple double early in the third. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith knocked down multiple threes, and Justin Jackson hit a 37-footer to put the Mavericks up 15 and add an exclamation point on an outstanding third quarter.

The Kings opened up the fourth with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to only nine. However, a quick 6-0 run for the Mavericks out of a timeout and clutch hustle rebounds by Dwight Powell elevated the Mavericks to finish off Sacramento and secure the win.

Luka’s going to Luka

This dude, sheesh.

I mean, c’mon.

Luka Doncic put on another monster performance Wednesday night, finishing the game with 25 points, 17 assists & 15 rebounds. Not only did Luka get his 12th triple double of the season or 20th all-time (one short of Jason Kidd the all-time Maverick leader) but he did it in less than 20 minutes. 20 minutes lol.

Luka simply dominated the game and had countless assists that elicted, “Holy sh*t” & “Omg”, reactions in our Mavs Moneyball Slack channel. After a couple “rough” performances, it was nice to see Luka cook up his opponents and his teammates knock down open looks.

Tonight was special, and Luka seemed pissed. Maybe it had to do with draft night 2018, I kinda hope so. Anyway it is such a fun time to be a Mavericks fan, thanks Vlade.

SETH. CURRY. *insert fire emoji*

The Maverick many fans thought would make the biggest leap coming into this season was Seth Curry. Instead, it’s been marked by different role players elevating their play on a nightly-basis. Dorian Finney-Smith is becoming a permanent starter & shooting a career-high 38% from three-point land - while Maxi Kleber’s contract is becoming one of the best value deals in the league. For Seth Curry however, this season hasn’t been quite what most had in mind. Tonight gave us a taste of what it can look like when that man catches fire.

Seth Curry exploded in the second quarter for 13 points on 5-7 shooting, and 16 points in the first half. Curry’s buckets were vital during a time when defense was non-existent on the other end of the floor. Curry would eventually finish the game with 21 points on 7-11 shooting.

That’s three in a row

We’re going streaking!!!!!

After the Mavericks loss to the western conference leading Lakers last Friday night, many fans were ready to push the panic button. “Drummond, we need Drummond!” tweets littered my timeline and there was a sense of restlessness within the public. Instead of hitting the panic button, the Mavericks went on to win their next three games and shut all you crazy people up.

This team is good, and also really fun. We all collectively need to remind ourselves of what we expected coming into this season. Almost every expectation was shattered and now is not the time to avidly watch the standings, worried that the Mavericks are “only” in sixth place in the Western Conference.

For the first time in over a decade, Dallas has young talent that they intend to develop and mold into a contending franchise. So let’s lean into the continuity and ride this wave - understanding there will nights like last Friday, but also really fun ones like tonight.

Here’s the postgame podcast, Mavs Moneyball After Dark. If you can’t see the embed below “More from Mavs Moneyball”, click here. And if you haven’t yet, subscribe by searching “Mavs Moneyball podcast” into your favorite podcast app.