Field Level Media
Oct 23, 2019
Luka Doncic scored 34 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 23 in his Dallas debut, and the Mavericks defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 108-100 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, made 12 of 19 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range.
Dallas reserves Dorian Finney-Smith and Justin Jackson added 10 points each.
Bradley Beal scored 19 points on 7-of-25 shooting for Washington, which has lost on nine of its past 10 visits to Dallas.
Thomas Bryant had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Rui Hachimura added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who were without guard Isaiah Thomas (thumb) and forward Troy Brown Jr. (calf). Dallas center Dwight Powell (hamstring) missed the game as well.
The Mavericks led by 17 points after Doncic banked in a 3-pointer early in the third quarter, and two Porzingis free throws soon made it 69-50.
Washington twice cut the deficit to 14, but the Mavericks closed the quarter on a 10-2 run and led by 23 to open the fourth.
Wizards reserves led by Moritz Wagner (13 points) and Jordan McCrae (11 points) sparked a rally that got the Wizards within 101-89 midway through the fourth quarter, but Jalen Brunson's 3-pointer pushed the lead back to 15 points.
Beal's 3-pointer made it 104-95 with 2:43 remaining, and Hachimura's layup cut the Dallas lead to seven at the 1:19 mark before Porzingis and Doncic combined for four points to ice it.
Washington led by one after the first quarter, but the Mavericks took a 28-27 lead on a Justin Jackson runner with 10:46 left in the first half.
Dallas built the lead, and Seth Curry's driving bank shot made it 44-31 at the 5:58 mark. The Wizards got as close as eight points, but Doncic's three-point play just before halftime made it 62-48 at intermission.
--Field Level Media