Daniel Gafford is chasing the great Wilt Chamberlain — again

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford is chasing the immortal Wilt Chamberlain.

Again.

After converting all 12 of his field goals during Tuesday’s 130-104 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets, Gafford has now made 16 consecutive field goals. The NBA record for consecutive field goals made is 35 in a row set by Chamberlain way back in 1967.

Gafford made a strong run at Chamberlain’s record earlier this season when he converted 33 baskets consecutively during a five-game span, putting him in second place on the NBA’s all-time list. But the chase ended when he misfired on his first field goal attempt of the game during a 126-119 loss at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Gafford’s current streak started when he made his last shot during Friday’s 108-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors. He then went three-for-three in Sunday’s 147-136 overtime win over Houston and followed that up with his 12-for-12 masterpiece against the Hornets.

When asked if he’s back trying to catch Chamberlain again, Gafford smiled and said: “Yeah, I guess so. I was just trying to go for my own record at this point, then worry about Wilt after I catch myself.”

Overall, Gafford scored a career-high tying 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in 25 workmanlike minutes against Charlotte. As far as catching and surpassing Chamberlain, Gafford said:

“I don’t know where I’m at right now, but I don’t really want to worry about it too much. I just want to go out and have fun with the game and I’ll worry about it at the end for sure.”

Here are the three takeaways from the Mavs’ 26-point win over the Hornets.

*The question is: What didn’t Luka Dončić do Tuesday night to destroy the Hornets? For starters, Dončić poured in 21 points in the first quarter when he was 5-of-9 from three-point range. The Hornets scored just 18 points in the first quarter. Overall, Dončić was 13-of-25 from the field, 8-of-17 from three-point land, and collected his 21^st triple-double of the season when he finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He also now has 77 career triple-doubles, tying him with James Harden for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time list.

*Following a slow start when he went scoreless in the first quarter, Kyrie Irving revved things up by scoring nine points in the second quarter when the Mavs built a 69-47 lead at the half. Irving wound up scoring 18 points, snatching eight rebounds, distributing nine assists and collecting two steals. He also blocked as many shots (three) as Charlotte’s entire team.

*The biggest takeaway from Tuesday night is that the Mavs’ long journey to reach the playoffs is complete. Thanks to the win over the Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers’ 105-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns, the Mavs have clinched a berth among the top six Western Conference playoff entrants. That is extremely meaningful in that the Mavs have avoided what everyone wants to avoid – the dreaded play-in tournament. The Mavs can now play their remaining three regular season games, then sit back and get approximately a week off before playing their first postseason game on April 20 or April 21.

X: @DwainPrice