Dallas Mavericks has a complicated December, without Kyrie Irving, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber, but with Luka Doncic At this level they can survive with little peace of mind.
The Texan franchise is back to 50% wins in the month after its underwhelming 144-119 over the San Antonio Spurs on December 23rd, unsurprisingly against the least winning side in the entire Western Region – and without Victor Wembanyama available too. What has an impact is another spectacular triple-double from Doncic.
The Slovenian reached his triple-double number 62 in the NBA, the sixth in the 2023-2024 season, the fourth in three weeks and the sixth of his career against the San Antonio Spurs, the team with the most triple-doubles by a Slovenian.
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Luca only needed to play three quarters of the race I might add 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 32 minutes, 13-27 from the field in a game the Mavericks broke apart in the third quarter to win 45-20.
As for triple-doubles with so many points, a rarity for some players in the NBA – not for Luka – he was just one away from reaching the historic podium: he has 36 triple-doubles of 30 points or more and is one away from tying LeBron James (the record is held by Oscar Robertson with 106).
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This is another chapter in Doncic’s fantastic December, one of his best months since arriving in the NBA and one that has him a strong contender to win the award. Western Conference Player of the Monthone that eluded him in 2023: the last one he acquired is dated, precisely, December 2022.
In contrast to last December’s 11-6 record, Dallas now sits at a mediocre 6-6 with tough games ahead (visit the Suns on Christmas, visit Minnesota and Golden State, home game against the Cavaliers) and that it’s an argument that goes against Luka (Dallas is 6-4 when he’s played this month). But Doncic’s individual stats are even more amazing.
The Slovenian, who averaged 35.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 9.3 assists at the end of last year, is now averaging 36 points, 9.5 rebounds and 11.3 assists on the montha December in which he had an 18-assist game and two 40-point triple-doubleswith 48% field goal accuracy throughout the month.
Luca sweetly arrives at Christmas and a marquee performance is expected on that stagethe longest in the regular season, in which they lost to the Lakers in 2020 and got revenge in 2022 is on the verge of a triple-double last year (32 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists). This should be the match that Doncic will reach as well 10,000 points in the NBA: just 11 more.
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Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.
Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.
Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.
Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.
Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.
Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.
Injury Update: Nikola Jokić suffered a Hyperextension injury in his Left Knee in last night’s match against Miami Heat. Nikola will be re-evaluated in four weeks. pic.twitter.com/NIDmlKAN81
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11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.
Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.
The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.
The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.
San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.
Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.
Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.
Toronto beat Orlando at home.
Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.
Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.
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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.
To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”
On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.
I am a sports journalist who has written for various websites and magazines. I currently work as an author at Sportish, a news website that covers sports news. My main focus is writing about soccer, rugby and other sports in the world.
