For the first time this season Luka Doncic was limited to less than 30 points this season in their loss to Orlando Magic.
Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic was held to under 30 points for the first time this season in a 94-87 in the loss to Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, ended the game with 24 points after scoring 30 or more in each of the Mavericks’ first nine games. He managed 9-for-29 overall and 2-for-11 from 3-point range.
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.
Spencer Dinwiddie 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 went into the game 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,” said Franz Wagner, who led the Magic with 22 points. “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.”
