Nuggets at Mavericks
Dallas star Luka Doncic looks to continue his standout season when the Dallas Mavericks host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Doncic recorded 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists during Monday's 118-110 home victory over the Chicago Bulls for his ninth 30-point triple-double of the season - one more than the combined total of the rest of the NBA.
Overall, the 20-year-old Doncic has 11 triple-doubles but he repeatedly reminds reporters he isn't all that concerned with the statistical stuff. "For me, all that matters is we got to win," Doncic said after the victory. "We needed that win. ... My team is helping a lot. We just played tough from the start to the end and that's how it's got to be." The Nuggets also received a huge performance from their star on Monday as center Nikola Jokic scored a career-best 47 points and didn't commit a single turnover. "He should have had 50," Denver swingman Will Barton told reporters afterward. "That's what he does. He just wants to win and play winning basketball. But when he's dominant down there we're just a different team. Any time he's aggressive, that's always the game plan. We want to play through him."
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN, Altitude, FS Southwest
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (25-11): Barton also stood out while scoring a season-high 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting and collecting nine rebounds to complement Jokic's big outing. "I wanted to be aggressive," Barton told reporters. "I felt like I hadn't been aggressive over the past couple of games and I just wanted to get back to myself." Barton was just 12-of-36 shooting over the previous three games before the solid effort against the Hawks that included three 3-pointers.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (23-13): Shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring) returned from a three-game absence and scored 15 points in 22 minutes while providing a significant lift. "I'm happy I was able to make an impact and play within the offense," Hardaway told reporters. "I credit the guys. They did a phenomenal job of finding me and making it easy for me to knock down shots." Hardaway also is in awe of Doncic's play, saying "the rare thing about Luka is he's doing this at 20. I haven't really seen any 20-year-old be this effective on both ends of the floor."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Mavericks tied the franchise record with nine double-digit scorers while posting a 109-106 win in Denver on Oct. 29.
2. Dallas PF Kristaps Porzingis (knee) missed four straight games but hopes to return on Wednesday.
3. Denver SG Gary Harris is just 5-of-24 shooting over the past two games.