On his birthday, Luka Dončić celebrated by hanging with his teammates and doing the one thing that NBA players never get to do enough of.

They rested.

And deservedly so.

The Mavericks, with Dončić at times dragging them along for the ride, have gone 7-2 over the last nine games, including a signature win against Brooklyn on Saturday night.

Not a signature win because it came over one of the best teams in the NBA on the road. If the Nets had been healthy with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then it would have been that kind of benchmark victory.

Instead, it was a signature moment for Dončić, because of the way he got mad respect from James Harden, who was dishing out a great pre-birthday present.

Just listen to what the Nets’ superstar had to say about Luka when asked if there were parts of his game that he sees in the Mavericks’ now-22-year-old phenom.

“Luka Dončić plays at his own pace,” Harden said. “There are some similarities. He never lets anyone speed him up and he gets what he wants. And that’s rare for a guy at a young age, to be able to dictate the game and control the game like he does. So, obviously, we all know he has a very, very bright future.

“The Mavs got a special one.”

Like they say, it takes one to know one.

Harden is special. So is Dončić. And while the Mavericks got the better of Harden and the shorthanded Nets, what made the night so special – besides being the last one of Luka’s 21st trip around the sun – was that he controlled the game in spite of having what could only be termed a garden-variety game by his standard.

No triple-double. No off-the-charts scoring. No highlight-reel buzzer beater that fans can’t get enough of. Just an efficient 27-point night during which he got players like Dorian Finney-Smith, Jalen Brunson (more on him in a moment) and Kristaps Porzingis heavily involved in the offense.

It’s what he’s done throughout this nine-game run, during which Dončić has averaged 31.6 points, shot 51.6 percent from the field and 46.1 percent from 3-point range. We’ll dispense with any reference to free-throw shooting, other than to say it remains a work in progress after he went 2-of-6 from the line on Saturday.

So on Saturday, when the Mavericks landed in Orlando, the Mavericks gave Luka and his teammates some rest with only Monday’s game against the Magic and Wednesday’s against Oklahoma City at American Airlines standing between the Mavericks and the All-Star break.

And, while Luka got a great gift from Harden, most of the time during this hot streak, it’s been the point guard dishing out the goodies – to one teammate in particular.

As the Mavericks have evolved around Dončić, one of the biggest beneficiaries has been Brunson, who continues to see more and more time on the floor with the guy he has at times backed up.

Over the past nine games, Brunson has averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. He’s played 26 minutes per game in that stretch and has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games.

“They have played a lot together 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. They’ve been good together. We like them playing a significant number of minutes together.”

Which, by the way, continues to make that 2018 Mavericks’ draft look better and better.

Twitter: @ESefko

Share and comment

More Mavs News