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Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles down the court against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center on March 11, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. | Getty Images via AFP
Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles down the court against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center on March 11, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. | Getty Images via AFP
CHICAGO – Luka Doncic had another triple-double. The only thing he didn’t do was maintain his record streak.
Doncic had 27 points, recording another triple-double but failing to score 30 for the first time in seven games, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 127-92 on Monday night.
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Doncic finished with 14 assists and 12 rebounds, but came out of the blowout midway through the fourth quarter to end his NBA record triple-double streak at 30 points at six.
“It’s all about winning for him,” coach Jason Kidd said. “The numbers, I don’t know if they really mean anything to him today. But when he retires, he will look back to see that the game he played was at a different level than everyone else.
Former Bulls center Daniel Gafford made all nine baskets, extending his streak to 28, seven short of the NBA record. Wilt Chamberlain made 35 in a row for the Philadelphia 76ers from February 17-28, 1967.
“My philosophy, of course, is just to be consistent, to have a mindset of finishing everything, no matter if there’s anyone in front of you or if there’s no one in front you,” Gafford said. “At the end of the day, you either have to dunk it or put it in the rim.”
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Doncic set the tone as Dallas outscored Chicago by 28 in the first quarter. The Mavericks gave up a season low in points while handing the Bulls their most lopsided loss.
Derek Lively II scored 22 points and Gafford finished with 20 points. The two were a combined 20 of 21, making them the first pair to score 20 or more points each while combining to shoot 95% or better since New York’s Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler in Memphis on November 12, 2008.
The Mavericks were about 55% from the field with Doncic and the big men dissecting them in the pick-and-roll, and won their third straight game after losing three in a row.
“We allowed a lot of field goals and offensive rebounds,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We need to be more involved than we were. … We were kind of too worried about getting back to that 3-point line instead of saying, hey, we’re going to pull the roll.
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Onuralp Bitim led Chicago with 17 points. DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each scored 13 points, and the Bulls gave up 60 points in the paint in losing their second straight.
The Mavericks set a season low in points allowed in the first quarter and first half by taking a 62-42 lead. They outscored Chicago 44-16 in the first period.
Doncic narrowly missed a triple-double in the first half with 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He scored 15 with six assists and six rebounds in the first quarter.
Dallas outscored Chicago 19-2 over the final 3:45 of the period, starting with Lively’s dunk. Doncic scored eight and made two 3-pointers during that stretch, including a step-back shot from beyond the arc in the final minute of the quarter.
After Coby White’s 3 was knocked out for Chicago, Josh Green nailed one for Dallas as time expired to make it a 28-point game.
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