Luka Doncic poured in 35 points to help lead the visiting Dallas Mavericks to a 120-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
Jaden Hardy added a season-high 19 points for the Mavericks, who won their third consecutive game. Dante Exum had 16 points for Dallas, while Derrick Lively II also scored 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with a season-high 41 points, as the struggling Grizzlies have lost three of their last four games. Desmond Bane tallied 28 points and Vince Williams Jr. had 10 points for Memphis.
The Grizzlies led 11-10 at the 7:15 mark of the first quarter, but Doncic hit a floater on the next possession to give the lead back to Dallas, one that would stand for the remainder of the game in a Mavericks win that was never in doubt.
After trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Bane’s layup cut the Memphis deficit to nine with 3:52 remaining in the quarter. Dallas then finished the quarter on a 10-2 run to push its lead to 17 points entering the final quarter. The Grizzlies scored 34 points in the fourth quarter, but Memphis was never able to cut the lead to fewer than seven.
In the first half, Seth Curry’s driving runner with 4:23 remaining in the second quarter pushed the Dallas lead to 54-37, its largest advantage of the game to that point. Exum knocked down a corner 3-pointer to match the 17-point lead with 55 seconds left, as Dallas led 67-51 at halftime.
Doncic paced the Mavericks first-half scoring with 23 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor. Exum and Hardy each added 11 points for Dallas, which made 24 of its 44 first-half field goals (54.5 percent). Memphis’ first-half offensive output was led by Jackson, who had 21 points, while Bane added 15.
The Mavericks were without five key players due to injury. Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kyrie Irving, Maxi Kleber and Grant Williams were all scratched Monday.
Memphis played its 22nd game without Ja Morant, who is still serving his 25-game suspension. Morant is eligible to return Dec. 19 against New Orleans.
–Field Level Media