Luka Doncic‘s all-around excellence was on full display as the Dallas Mavericks decimated the Chicago Bulls 127-92 in Monday night’s NBA action. Doncic tallied a triple-double, scoring 27 points, dishing out 14 assists, and grabbing 12 rebounds, though his NBA-record streak of 30-point triple-doubles ended at six games.
“It’s about winning to him,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Numbers, I don’t know if they really mean anything to him today. But when he does retire, he’ll look back to see the game that he was playing was at a different level than anybody else.”
Daniel Gafford, facing his former team, was perfect from the field, contributing to a Mavericks’ offense that was nearly unstoppable. His performance extended his consecutive made field goals to 28, approaching the NBA record.
“My philosophy for sure is just being consistent, having a mindset of just going to finish everything no matter if there’s somebody in front of you or if there isn’t somebody in front of you,” Gafford said. “At the end of the day, either dunking it or putting it in the rim.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls Updates
The Mavericks’ dominance began early, outscoring the Bulls by 28 points in the first quarter and setting the stage for what would become Chicago’s most lopsided defeat of the season. Alongside Gafford, Dereck Lively II shone, with the duo combining for a highly efficient scoring night.
“We gave up a lot of rolls to the basket and offensive rebounds,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We’ve got to be more pulled in than we were. … We kind of were too worried about getting back out to that 3-point line instead of saying, hey, we’re gonna take away the roll.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls Updates
The Bulls struggled to find an answer to the Mavericks’ offense, with Onuralp Bitim leading Chicago in scoring but unable to make up the deficit. Key players DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic were held to 13 points each as the Bulls succumbed to their second consecutive loss.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, continued their winning streak, thanks in large part to a strategic offense that exploited their strengths and capitalized on the Bulls’ defensive shortcomings.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Luka Doncic, Dereck Lively II, Dallas Mavericks, Chicago Bulls Updates
As Dallas prepares to host Golden State and Chicago sets its sights on Indiana, both teams will carry lessons from this game into their next matchups.
