The Mavericks’ day off Sunday was one for celebrations — not only because they beat the Nets 115-98 Saturday night to return to .500.
Luka Doncic turned 22 on Sunday, and though the coronavirus pandemic prohibited any major gatherings like last year’s 21st birthday bash in Miami, the Mavericks sang to him at midnight while busing back to their hotel.
The last day of February 2021 also represented the perfect time to appreciate another Doncic-related date: June 21, 2018.
That’s the night Doncic (No. 3 overall) and Jalen Brunson (No. 33) became Mavericks.
During the last four weeks, in which Dallas finally played with its full rotation and won eight of 12 games, the Mavericks’ 2018 draft class — birthday, on-court production, sarcastic friendship and all — has been thriving.
“They have played a lot together in the last three years,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “JB has a good feel for playing with Luka and vice versa. There’s a high level of trust between both of them.”
A week before starting his second All-Star Game in three seasons, Doncic finished his 21-year-old run as:
- The NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles (32) among players under 22 years old.
- The Mavericks’ franchise record holder for career triple-doubles.
- A 2019-20 first team All-NBA selection, positioning him for a potential rookie scale max extension this offseason.
- The second player in NBA history to finish with at least 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists before turning 22, joining LeBron James.
Brunson, meanwhile, has compiled the best two-month stretch of his career. In 12 February games, the 24-year-old point guard averaged 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
In 12 January games, despite a four-game hiatus to quarantine as a close contact to the Mavericks’ COVID-19 outbreak, Brunson finished with 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
March 2019 was the only month Brunson tallied a higher scoring average — 15.1 points in 15 games while he played as a regular starter after the lottery-bound Mavericks’ roster-altering trade for Kristaps Porzingis.
Now, with the Mavericks’ playoff expectations well established, Brunson has become one of the team’s best closers, prompting Carlisle to sometimes structure his rotations so Doncic as a starter and Brunson as a reserve can finish games together.
“We’ve had situations where we’ve had Jalen in against guys like Trae Young and [Damian] Lillard and guys like that that we want to be able to attack offensively as well as be able to work on defending them,” Carlisle said. “He’s got a good feel for balancing the attacks with keeping the ball moving in the team concept.
“They’ve been good together. We like them playing a significant number of minutes together.”
Doncic and Brunson developed a strong bond since being introduced at a press conference together the day after the draft.
Their wit and banter, especially over video games, social media and their rival Cowboys-Eagles fandom, has been well documented. The latest evidence: Brunson wished Doncic a happy birthday Sunday on Instagram by posting a video of an unsuspecting Doncic dancing in a hotel lobby.
The on-court Doncic-Brunson pairing this season also averages 113 points per 100 possessions — 0.5 higher than the Mavericks’ team offensive rating (112.5) — and limits opponents to an average of 105.5 points per 100 possessions — 7.8 lower than the Mavericks’ team defensive rating (113.3).
“He’s a great player,” Doncic said. “It’s easy to have chemistry like that.”
Doncic draws the majority of the attention as a generational talent.
After the Mavericks’ win Saturday, Nets guard James Harden, a former league MVP, paid Doncic, a hopeful future award winner, a strong compliment.
“Luka Doncic, he plays at his own pace,” Harden said. “That’s rare for a guy at a young age to be able to dictate and control the game like he does. Obviously, as we know, he has a very, very bright future.
“And the Mavs got a special one.”
But it turns out the Mavericks actually got a formidable two.
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