Dallas Mavericks 87, Orlando Magic 94
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 22 points and the Orlando Magic held Luka Doncic under 30 points for the first time this season in a 94-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer, finished with 24 points after scoring 30 or more in each of the Mavericks' first nine games. He shot 9 for 29 overall and 2 for 11 from 3-point range.
Spencer Dinwiddle scored 29 points for the Mavericks, who were outrebounded 49-29 in losing for the first time in five games.
“Every NBA team can beat you and I played terrible, but I think as a group we didn't play good,” Doncic said. “We have to approach the game better.”
The Magic played for the first time without rookie Paolo Banchero, who sprained his ankle Monday night. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Chuma Okeke, who drew the assignment of defending Doncic in his first start of the season.
“Luka was our focus coming into the game. He’s one of the best in the league, scoring, passing, all of that,” said Okeke, who had eight points and seven rebounds. “We had a specific game plan of what we wanted to do, which was pressure him, not make anything easy. That was the game plan for the whole game.”
The Magic held the Mavericks to 37.9% shooting and 87 points after giving up 126 and 134 points in consecutive losses to Sacramento and Houston.
“We have everything to prove as a group and also as individual players,” Wagner said. “We weren’t satisfied with our performance the other day against Houston ... we want to be a resilient team. We have to get better at finishing games, playing through mistakes and stuff like that.”
Dinwiddie's layup early in the second quarter put Dallas up 34-24, the Mavs' only double-digit lead of the game.
Dallas led 83-82 when Dinwiddie scored with 6:02 remaining, but the Magic answered with eight straight points in a 3 1/2-minute stretch in which Doncic missed two free throws.
A jumper and two free throws by Wagner put Orlando up 94-85 with 56.7 seconds left.
“We just missed open shots. In this league you can't miss open shots,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “We got a lot of good looks. We've just got to make them.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: The start of the game was moved up by 90 minutes due to the approach of Hurricane Nicole. Dallas planned to bus to Tampa, away from the worst of the approaching storm, to fly to Washington for Thursday night's game against the Wizards. ... F/C Christian Wood missed his first game of the season with a sprained left knee. ... G Tim Hardaway Jr., who left Monday's game at Brooklyn with a left hip strain, played 22 minutes.
Magic: Okeke, Bol Bol and Jalen Suggs had seven rebounds each. . . The Magic are hopeful that Banchero, who leads NBA rookies in scoring (23.5) and rebounds (8.3), will miss only one game. ... G Kevon Harris sat out the game with a left rib contusion.
WILT'S 60-YEAR-OLD RECORD IS SAFE FOR NOW
Other than Doncic, the only player to open an NBA season with nine games of 30 points or more was Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 30 or more points in the first 23 games of the 1962-63 season.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Play at Washington on Thursday night.
Magic: Host Phoenix on Friday night.
Denver Nuggets 122, Indiana Pacers 119
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nikola Jokic spent the first three quarters watching his teammates do the dirty work.
When he finally returned early in the fourth, the two-time NBA MVP cleaned up.
Limited by foul trouble, Jokic scored 24 points in 21 minutes and helped the Denver Nuggets overcome an 18-point deficit in the second half to rally past the Indiana Pacers 122-119 on Wednesday night.
“We did enough on defense,” guard Jamal Murray said after scoring 18 points and playing a key role in the comeback. “I think they got a lot of fast-break points in the first half. We limited that in the second half and just contested every shot and we were able to get going on offense, too.”
The biggest obstacle for Denver was Jokic's foul trouble.
He picked up four fouls in less than 18 minutes, then was whistled for No. 5 just 58 seconds into the second half. He spent the next 13 minutes on the bench as the Nuggets' 3-point shooters finally started fighting back from an 87-69 deficit.
They cut it to 95-89 after three quarters and Jokic took care of the rest when he returned. Aaron Gordon had 18 points and tied his career high with 17 rebounds. Denver has won four straight and six of seven.
Indiana had a chance to force overtime at the buzzer but Myles Turner's 3 was off the mark.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 30 points, 23 coming in the first half. Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and 11 assists.
“He's doing things now that no center really has ever done,” coach Rick Carlisle said, referring to Jokic. “He gets his joy from passing the ball and he's certainly an elite scorer.”
Jokic didn't need a lot of time to show it.
His teammates got Denver within 103-98 when Jokic re-entered and after Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer made it a one-point game, Jokic hit back-to-back short jumpers to finally give the Nuggets a 108-105 lead.
Indiana tied the score at 117 on Haliburton's long 2-pointer with 55.2 seconds to go, but Jokic broke the tie with a 20-footer on the ensuing possession to help put it away.
The Pacers had a two-game winning streak snapped.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Porter made three 3s to extend his career-best streak to nine games with three or more from beyond the arc. He had 17 points. ... Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points on a night when Denver had 20 turnovers.
Pacers: Scored a season-high 43 points in the second quarter, falling just short of the best scoring half of the season (75). ... Mathurin made eight of his first 10 shots and wound up 6 of 9 on 3s. ... Turner had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Isaiah Jackson added 17 points and 10 rebounds. ... Indiana rookie Andrew Nembhard started his second straight game and had eight points and five assists.
GETTING TECHNICAL
Nuggets coach Mike Malone did everything he could to keep Jokic out of foul trouble. A coach’s challenge on Jokic’s third foul was unsuccessful. And when Gordon’s attempt to draw the fourth foul also proved unsuccessful, Malone's response to a fan drew a technical as Jokic walked to the bench with 6:40 left in the first half. The fan was removed.
“He was just a little bit too aggressive, in my face,” Malone said. “I don’t react kindly to that, partner.”
GETTING TECHNICAL, PART 2
Carlisle also got worked up with 22.2 seconds to go when Mathurin was called for a foul. As Carlisle stepped toward midcourt, he was called for a technical. Murray made all three free throws to give Denver a 122-117 lead.
“In that moment, you hope for some basketball decency — let a coach vent,” Carlisle said. “Then he calls a technical, which shocked me, really. But it’s my fault.”
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Make the third stop on a four-game road trip Friday at Boston.
Pacers: Close out a four-game homestand Saturday against Toronto.
By The Associated Press | 11/10/22
Follow DJ Arthurs on Twitter at @DJArthursJourno
