NEW YORK — — When Luka Doncic’s pass to Reggie Bullock with a second left in regulation time led to a missed shot, the Dallas Mavericks were undeterred.
They knew their superstar teammate would continue to create more chances for them – and they did their job when he did.
Doncic had 41 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, setting up three 3-pointers in overtime to send the Mavericks to a 129-125 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
“We’re just trying to do our best to make his job a lot easier on the pitch when he gives up the ball, and the only way to do that is to knock down shots and take them with confidence and make a play of theater,” said Tim Hardaway Jr.
Doncic found Hardaway, Maxi Kleber and Bullock for 3 seconds in the extra period as Dallas built a nine-point lead en route to their first road win of the season.
“Obviously Luka is probably the best guy to make tough shots and make shots when they count, but he also knows when to make the right basketball plays,” Kleber said. “And especially when we went into overtime, they were really aggressive with him and he made the right play, I don’t know, three or four times in a row. We just got hot and did all those shots.
Doncic also had two field goals in overtime to become the 10th player in NBA history with three 40-point triple-doubles.
Kyrie Irving scored 39 points and Kevin Durant had 37 for the Nets, who faced some of the most dynamic players in the NBA this week and came up short each time. First it was Ja Morant with 38 points in Memphis then Giannis Antetokounmpo with 43 on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
This time it was Doncic, who had scored over 30 points in each of the first three games and now has his first 40-point game of the season, with his midfield drives opening eyes all around him.
“When we attack the paint we are a very dangerous team,” said Doncic.
The Nets fell to 1-4.
“I felt like we did some good things tonight, but it just wasn’t enough,” Irving said.
The game was briefly delayed in overtime when a fan threw what appeared to be an ice cup which landed on the field near the Dallas bench.
The Mavs led by two with less than a minute remaining in regulation and appeared to have an insurance basket when Durant was called for the goaltender on Doncic’s drive. But the call was overruled on the replay, allowing the Nets to tie it when Ben Simmons stole the ball from Doncic and set Durant up for a dunk with 8.8 seconds remaining.
Doncic passed to Bullock on the next possession but his corner jumper missed.
But Doncic scored 16 seconds into overtime to give the Mavs the lead for good, then found Hardaway for a 3. After Irving made two free throws, Kleber and Bullock hit back-to-back 3s to make it 123 -114.
Simmons finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists. He matched his season high for points despite firing an airball on a short first-half attempt.
TIPS
Mavericks: Dallas begins a five-game homestand that ends in the rematch with the Nets on Nov. 7. … Hardaway scored 18 points after missing the loss at New Orleans on Tuesday with right foot pain.
Nets: G Seth Curry, who hasn’t played this season while recovering from left ankle surgery, trained with the Nets’ G League side on Thursday. Coach Steve Nash said he’s getting closer to the game and the team will see how he feels on Friday.
NEXT
Mavericks: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Nets: Open a two-game series against Indiana on Saturday.
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