Luka Doncic scored 14 of his 32 points in the first quarter as the Dallas Mavericks got off to a hot start en route to a 108-85 NBA win over the injury-hit Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The Mavs, who came up short in their comeback against Houston on Thursday, took control early against an Orlando team missing 2023 Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero due to an oblique injury.
Dallas had its highest-scoring first period of the season, taking a 30-22 lead after one quarter and never trailing again.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, but Orlando made just eight of 41 three-point attempts and outscored 52-36 in the paint.
Doncic added nine rebounds and seven assists, Daniel Gafford scored 18 points and star guard Kyrie Irving scored 17 points for Dallas, which led with as many as 33 points.
“Today was really fun,” Doncic said. “We guarded everyone, defended, rebounded and played with a lot of speed. So that’s fun for me.”
Klay Thompson, a four-time NBA champion with Golden State who joined Dallas as a free agent this season, had a quiet night with nine points on four-of-10 shooting, making just one of his five three-point attempts.
But Mavs coach Jason Kidd said he was impressed with Thompson’s impact, beyond the scoring.
“I thought he had a great game,” Kidd said. “I know we look at him because he scores and shoots threes, but I thought his play and his energy were high. He moved at a very high level on both ends.”
The Detroit Pistons bounced back from a 30-point loss to the New York Knicks on Friday to claim their second win of the season, 106-92 over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Star guard Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists and for the first time this season, every Pistons starter scored in double figures.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points on eight of 13 shooting with six assists and five rebounds and Malik Beasley added 18 points off the bench for Detroit, which trailed by five at halftime but took the lead for good after Harris’ jump shot at 3: 08 left. in the third quarter.
– ‘Two-way traffic’ –
In New Orleans, Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson scored 29 points and Trae Young added 23 points, four rebounds, 12 assists and a steal as the Hawks handed the injury-depleted Pelicans their first home loss this season (126-111).
New Orleans star Zion Williamson, who is averaging 21.4 points, eight rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, was ruled out with right hamstring tightness.
He joined star guard CJ McCollum and forward Herbert Jones on the sidelines, McCollum nursing a right adductor strain and Jones a shoulder injury.
Forward Brandon Ingram did what he could to fill the void, scoring 32 points, but it wasn’t enough in the face of a balanced Atlanta attack that had six players score in double figures to lead the Pels 66-32 defeated. the paint.
Atlanta’s Larry Nance, who scored 14 points off the bench against his former team, said the win started with an “impressive” performance by Young.
“That was a two-sided Trae,” Nance said. “My guy got steals, played defense, dove on the floor. He dictated the game the entire second half.”
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