Field Level Media
Feb 21, 2020
Luka Doncic scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists, Maxi Kleber scored a career-high 26 points off the bench, and the Dallas Mavericks held off the host Orlando Magic 122-106 on Friday.
Kleber did much of his damage in the fourth quarter, hitting 3 of 4 3-point attempts and scoring 12 points in the frame. His effort ignited a critical final 12 minutes for the Mavericks, who were dominant in the opening and closing periods.
Dallas held a 34-18 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Orlando chipped away at the deficit in the middle periods. The Magic forced a 78-78 tie late in the third quarter when Nikola Vucevic (27 points) knocked down a 3-pointer.
Orlando trailed by one point with 2:18 remaining in the third after Evan Fournier scored two of his team-high 28 points, but Dallas closed the period on a run that extended into the fourth.
The 13-2 Mavericks burst included a Kleber dunk off an alley-oop pass from Doncic plus a Kleber 3-pointer.
Dallas rode the run to hold a double-digit-point advantage for about the final 10 minutes of the game.
Kristaps Porzingis recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. In Dallas' previous game, Doncic had 33 points and Porzingis added 27 in a win over the Sacramento Kings before the All-Star break.
Vucevic grabbed 12 rebounds and a game-high four steals. Aaron Gordon finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Markelle Fultz finished with 14 points and nine assists for the Magic. Terrence Ross scored 19 points, and Michael Carter-Williams grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.
Dallas committed 16 turnovers to just eight for Orlando, but the Magic's 39.4 percent field-goal shooting, including just 9 of 43 (20.9 percent) from behind the 3-point arc, made the difference.
The Mavericks hit 51.2 percent from the floor, including 15 of 38 (39.5 percent) from long range.
--Field Level Media