Month: December 2019

(19-10) DALLAS MAVERICKS, 107 VS. (21-8) TORONTO RAPTORS, 110 SCOTIABANK ARENA SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2019

TORONTO RAPTORS QUOTES

NICK NURSE (HEAD COACH)

On Kyle Lowry in the fourth quarter … He was unbelievable and he really didn’t have a good game going until that point. He started firing, making and driving and and-oneing, he was doing it all. I am not sure I have seen anything like it.

On the swarming, trapping defence in the fourth quarter… We stayed with it a long time, we probably called it off a little bit early, to honest with you. There wasn’t really any reason, I think they had one quick dunk out of it, early on it, right when we got in it. They were pulling back so we really were at no risk to try and steal in the backcourt, because when they crossed they were waiting for us to get re-matched up anyway. It is usually a (more) little short-lived than that though, normally.

On the length of Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to run the press … They played with tremendous energy, I think, more than anything and when you are doing that, we just said anything but the rim. If the ball started heading to the rim, we wanted to swarm it and make them kick out and then try to do our best to get back out there. Other than I think it was the second possession, where they came down and dunked it, I think we did a good job. All the other ones were fouls that were almost good defensive plays at the rim anyway. Rondae and Chris, Rondae at the front and Chris at the back was a good combination there.

On why Kyle Lowry and the bench work so well … I think in that scenario, you know I am always talking about going through your primary guys first, and then those guys have to be opportunity scorers and I think that’s really what it turned into. Kyle makes the play, take the shot or find the cutter, or find the kick out or whatever. I think that just organizes you, they were all like, do your thing and we will chip in where we can and we had just enough cuts and Terence (Davis) makes a three, Rondae here, Chris on a tip in, just enough plays off of Kyle’s initial actions I think would be my answer to that.

On most teams shutting it down, being down 30 with a game tomorrow … I think I would say historically we have always been a team that fights. In my time here, we hardly ever mail it in and it is a good characteristic to have. That thought barely came into my head there, and I said ‘we are going to give it a go to start the fourth’. The game is too long and there have been a lot of leads this year that have disappeared on people. We do it sometimes ourselves, it happens so you might as well take a shot at it sometimes.

CHRIS BOUCHER (21 points, seven rebounds, four blocks)

What’s it like to be part of a game like that? It’s one of the craziest games I’ve ever been in. I’m still realizing we were down 30 and what we had to do to come back. I’m definitely going to go watch the game again, just to see how exciting this game was and how the fans helped us so much just cheering with us. We feel it down to the court.

At what point did you think the comeback was possible? I don’t know. Me and Rondae, we’re talking on the bench and he was saying how he just wants us to be a plus because we were at minus something. At this point all we could do was bring energy and try to get back to this game. Every time we kept chipping in, we were like let’s make another push and Nick Nurse did a good job of keeping us doing different defensive drills. The schemes were pretty good for us, especially me and Rondae. The way that we play, he really helped us out with that.

On the trust from Kyle Lowry… When somebody gets hurt, we all know that we have to step up and it’s easier when you have somebody like Kyle, that’s been there for years and always has a way to tell us what to do or what he needs from us and he was exceptional today, with all the plays he did and all the shots that he hit. A lot of people have been hard on him this year. We always had confidence in him and always knew he would lead us some way, somehow and today he just showed to everybody how he does it. For us it was a way to follow the leader and do what we are capable of doing to help the team.

TERENCE DAVIS II (nine points, five rebounds)

What was it like watching Kyle in the fourth quarter? It’s amazing. I kept telling him that he hit some big shots. Just staying in his ear and I mean he’s a vet, he’s a 14-year pro. That’s what he does.

KYLE LOWRY (32 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists)

Did you feel like you had to take control in the fourth? No, because I didn’t do it. We had a great team effort and Malcolm (Miller), Terence, Rondae, and Chris Boucher, I give them all the credit, they won that game for us. Malcolm got a few steals, TD hit some big threes, Chris with his deflections and shot blocks, Rondae with his putbacks and hustle effort. Give those guys the credit, seriously.

At what point did you think the comeback was possible? When he (Kristaps Porzingis) threw that last shot and he missed it. Honestly, that’s one of those games where you just can’t take anything for granted, because we used so much energy to get there. You just have to hold on until that last buzzer goes off and once that ball went sailing right, I was like wow, that was a fun game.

(19-10) DALLAS MAVERICKS, 107 VS. (21-8) TORONTO RAPTORS, 110 SCOTIABANK ARENA SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2019

DALLAS MAVERICKS QUOTES

RICK CARLISLE (HEAD COACH)

On tonight’s game… Very disappointing loss. I take full responsibility for it. We got to a point where we lost our aggression. Give them credit, they did a great job with the trap but we didn’t respond well enough to it, and that’s on me.

Was there a point in the comeback where you started to feel uncomfortable? I’ve told you what I’m going to tell you about it. It’s pretty clear what happened and it’s an aggression thing. Give them credit, give their fans credit, they kept a lot of energy going. But when you get hit with that kind of force you’ve got to respond with equal or greater force, and we just didn’t do it soon enough. I liked the way we got it back together at the end, gave ourselves a chance, had a shot to probably win the game. It’s a disappointing loss and we got to learn from it.

On the recent rough schedule and coming out of it in pretty good shape… We’re not looking to be a little better than expected; we’re looking to do exceptional things. So that’s why this is really disappointing. We’ll learn from it. I don’t know that we’ll see a situation quite like this – Toronto’s unique with the guys they can put out there, the speed and this part of what they do. There’s always things to learn from difficult situations and that’s what we’ll do.

DWIGHT POWELL (17 points, nine rebounds)

How tough is a loss like this after so much momentum coming into tonight’s game? It’s really tough. Hopefully we can learn something from it and not let it be for nothing.

What did you see defensively from Toronto in the fourth quarter? They picked up the intensity, they pressed full court. They did a good job of getting us to throw ill-timed passes and getting in the lanes. They turned us over a little bit. They also executed well on offense. They got to the free throw line and knocked down a lot of their shots.

What went wrong for the Mavericks? We didn’t defend to the level that we needed to in that period of time. They made some tough plays, but we obviously needed to make some more stops during that stretch while they were making their run because we weren’t able to execute as well as we wanted to offensively.

On the Toronto press… We work on it. It’s part of the game. Whether it’s done in long stretches or not, I think every team has a press. Every team has the ability to put players out there who can get in the passing lanes, so that’s something we prepare for. We just didn’t execute well in that situation tonight.

How do you feel overall about how the team played tonight? I think we have look at the film and learn from this game. This is a great team and they have some great players and they definitely proved that tonight. We need to figure out a way to maintain the good things that we have been doing through 48 minutes.

TIM HARDAWAY JR. (16 points, eight rebounds, five assists)

Does today take away at all from what the team has accomplished recently? I think today was actually the best thing that could’ve happened to us. It’s a tough loss, being up as much as 28 or 30, but it shows that whenever you’re up that much you can’t let up. You can’t back down from the competition. You can’t ease yourself into the win because the game isn’t even over yet. I think that moving forward this will put an anger and a killer instinct mentality even more into our guys. We’re going to move on from this, learn from this. I think this is the best thing that could happen to us, especially earlier on in the season.

What was it about their press that bothered the team so much? Just like when we go into the zone and the other teams get tentative, I think that’s what happened to us. We didn’t attack it like we should have. It helps when they’re making baskets and the crowd is getting into it, the court starts to shake a little bit, so it gets pretty intense. Most importantly, we have to learn from this. We have a young group of guys. Like I said, I’m happy it happened early on in the season more so than later on in the season when we will be fighting for our lives. I’m happy if we learn from it and move on.

Rick Carlisle said, “it’s on me” and he said he told you guys that. Do you buy into that? No, no. BS. BS, man. It’s not on him at all. It’s all on us. We’re going to take it on the chin, move on from it. It should leave a sour taste in our mouth moving forward cause we know we should’ve had the win, but we have to credit them. They never stopped playing. They played hard and their bench guys, (Rondae) Hollis-Jefferson and (Chris) Boucher, and all those guys did a phenomenal job of coming in and giving them that spark. Hats off to them.

KRISTAPS PORZINGIS (19 points, 12 rebounds)

What can you learn from that fourth quarter and improve? Maybe that we folded a little bit under pressure. That zone defence that they did maybe caught us off guard a little bit, but it was really good. They have long guys. They got the crowd into it, high energy, got a few steals, got a few buckets and I don’t know what happened. It’s kind of weird. It is what it is.

What got you the lead after a slow start? Just playing our game. We didn’t really do anything special, just played our game. We played good defence, got out, got some shots. We got ourselves into the game. We did what we do. Then we didn’t react the right way to their pressure and their energy. That was it. They made their huge run and we didn’t respond.

Are you surprised that you didn’t respond? Every game is different. Tonight was a weird, weird game, honestly. I still can’t process what happened.

What was so weird about their zone? It was good. Honestly, it was good. We were on our heels a little bit. Against an aggressive zone like that your mindset has to be attack first, don’t take your time. You also have to stay aggressive. We got a hit a little bit and then were like, “I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t want to rush it or turn the ball over.” That got us out of our rhythm a little bit and it took too long for us to start playing better against it. With five minutes left they’re already back in the game. At the end of the game it could’ve gone either way. It’s a championship-level team. They know how to play. They have experience and they were able to close the game.

RAPTOR NOTES • The Toronto Raptors play the first of a back-to-back when they host the Dallas Mavericks Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena. Following the game, Toronto will head to Indiana to play the Pacers Monday night. The Raptors dropped the first meeting of the season against the Mavericks last month in Dallas 110-102. Despite the loss, Toronto has won seven of its last nine games vs. Dallas, including three of the last four. Fred VanVleet recorded 24 points and seven assists in the November loss. • Toronto won is fourth consecutive game – and third straight at home – Friday night vs. Washington. Raptors starters combined for 96 of the team’s 122 points. Over its four-game win streak, Toronto is averaging 119.3 points while shooting .469 from the field. Kyle Lowry is averaging 20.8 points, 9.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in the team’s last four victories. • The Raptors currently rank second in the NBA averaging 9.6 steals in December (10 games), behind only Chicago (10.4). Norman Powell leads the team with 17 steals this month. Toronto had more steals than its opponent in 10 straight games (Nov. 29 – Dec. 18). It was the longest streak in the NBA team this season and was the second-longest such stretch in Raptors history. Toronto had more steals than its opponent in 11 consecutive games in 2007–08. Patrick McCaw had three of the team’s six steals Friday night vs. Washington, marking a season high. • Serge Ibaka made his first start of the season Friday night, recording his third double-double in his last four games. In those four games, Ibaka is averaging 18.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. • The Raptors shot 40 per cent (12-30) from behind the arc Friday night. Toronto currently sits third in the NBA in three-point percentage (.378) behind Miami (.385) and Utah (.383). Terence Davis ranks seventh among NBA rookies with a .405 three-point percentage. • Patrick McCaw has played at least 20 minutes in four straight games for the first time since March 2018, when he had a streak of five consecutive games with 20 or more minutes with the Golden State Warriors. • Toronto forced 17 turnovers Friday night leading to 20 points. The Raptors currently rank second in the league averaging 19.9 points off of turnovers behind Chicago (22.0 points). • Delon Wright returns to Toronto for the first time since being traded to Memphis along with Jonas Valanciunas, C.J. Miles and a second-round pick in exchange for Marc Gasol last season. Wright averaged 6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 17.5 minutes in 172 games with the Raptors. • December is Toronto’s busiest month of the season with 16 games and includes three back-to-back sets. The Raptors’ 11 games at Scotiabank Arena tie the franchise record for most home games in a calendar month – Toronto also played 11 games at home in March 2016. For the first time the Raptors will play at home Christmas Day when they host the Boston Celtics. • Pascal Siakam is one of five players in the NBA averaging 24.0+ points, 8.0+ rebounds and 3.0+ assists this season, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic and Karl-Anthony Towns. No Raptor has ever averaged 24.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists throughout an entire season.

PROBABLE STARTERS

F – PATRICK McCAW #22 • Made first start of the season Dec. 20 vs. Washington; scored a season-high 11 points in 34 minutes. • Missed 17 games (Nov. 6 – Dec. 9) earlier this year following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. • Averaging 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 25.1 minutes in 32 career games as a starter.

MIN: 23.0 REB: 1.9 AST: 1.6 STL: 1.0 TO: 1.4 BLK: 0.0 PTS: 4.0

F – OG ANUNOBY #3 • Finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes of play Dec. 20 vs. Washington. • Toronto is 14-2 this season when Anunoby scores 10 or more points (Last: 18 – Dec. 20 vs. Washington). • Shooting .594 (19-for-32) from the field over the last three games (Dec. 16-20).

MIN: 30.0 REB: 5.7 AST: 1.7 STL: 1.2 TO: 1.2 BLK: 0.9 PTS: 11.6

C – SERGE IBAKA #9 • Recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes in his first start of the season Dec. 20 vs. Washington. • Has led the reserves in scoring a team-high 13 times. • Averaged 16.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 29.5 minutes in 51 starts for Toronto last season.

MIN: 23.2 REB: 7.6 AST: 1.3 STL: 0.5 TO: 2.0 BLK: 1.1 PTS: 13.6

G – KYLE LOWRY #7 • Tallied team highs of 26 points and nine assists in 41 minutes Dec. 20 vs. Washington. • Passed Antonio Davis (110) for third on the Raptors’ all-time double-doubles list Dec. 18 at Detroit. • Averaging 17.4 points and 8.1 assists in nine games (Dec. 3-20) since returning from a left thumb injury.

MIN: 37.6 REB: 5.0 AST: 7.4 STL: 1.2 TO: 3.0 BLK: 0.4 PTS: 19.5

G – FRED VANVLEET #23 • Totaled 18 points and career-high nine rebounds Dec. 20 vs. Washington in his return to the lineup. • Ranks fifth in NBA in minutes per game (36.5) and ranks 11th in assists per game (7.1). • Toronto is 8-2 this season when VanVleet scores 20 or more points (Last: 20 – Dec. 5 vs. Houston).

MIN: 36.5 REB: 4.0 AST: 7.1 STL: 2.0 TO: 2.3 BLK: 0.1 PTS: 18.0


INJURY REPORT Marc Gasol (Left hamstring; strain) – Out Stanley Johnson (Left groin; stress reaction) – Out Norman Powell (Left shoulder; subluxation ) – Out Pascal Siakam (Groin; stretch) – Out Matt Thomas (Left middle finger; distal phalanx fracture) – Out

NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: Dallas Mavericks Date: Sunday, December 22 Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m. (ET) Venue: Scotiabank Arena Television: Sportsnet Radio: Sportsnet 590 The FAN

SERIES RECAP VS. DALLAS

OVERALL HOME ROAD 2019-20 0-1 0-0 0-1 ALL-TIME 20-26 13-9 7-17 STREAKS Lost 1 Won 4 Lost 1

LAST WIN: January 27, 2019 (123-120)

LAST HOME WIN: October 26, 2018 (116-107)

LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: +22, 2X – last: March 13, 2017

LARGEST MARGIN OF DEFEAT: -28, November 7, 2009

LAST TIME V. DALLAS GAME 12 – NOVEMBER 16, 2019 DALLAS 110, TORONTO 102

DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 26 points and 15 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 110-102 … Doncic scored nine points in the fourth quarter … He made all seven free throws in the quarter and finished with a career-best 15 free throws in 19 attempts … Delon Wright finished with 15 points, and banked in a fadeaway with 5 seconds left in the third quarter to send Dallas into the fourth with a 78-77 edge … Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and matched his career best with 15 rebounds for Dallas … Seth Curry scored 15 points, and Dorian FinneySmith and Maxi Kleber had 10 apiece … For Toronto, Norman Powell scored a season-high 26 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter … Fred VanVleet added 25 points, Pascal Siakam had 15, and Matt Thomas scored 10 … The Mavericks used a 15-0 run in the first quarter to transform a 10-3 deficit into an 18-10 lead … Dallas led 32-22 after the first quarter, with Doncic scoring 14 points … The Raptors roared back in the second quarter, shooting 61% (14 for 23) and outscoring the Mavericks 38 -21 for a 60-53 halftime lead … Powell scored eight points in a 13-4 run that took Toronto from four points down five points ahead at 49-44.

1 2 3 4 TOT

TORONTO 22 38 17 25 102

DALLAS 32 21 25 32 110
NEXT GAME DETAILS Opponent: Indiana Pacers Date: Monday, December 23 Tip-Off: 7 p.m. (ET) Venue: Bankers Life Fieldhouse Television: Sportsnet Radio: TSN 1050 Toronto

DALLAS MAVERICKS

PROBABLE STARTERS PLAYER / 2019-20 REGULAR SEASON AVERAGES NOTES #10 Dorian Finney-Smith F • 6-7 • 220 • Florida/USA

PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG

8.6 5.2 1.3 0.7 0.4 28.1

Last Game: Finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes at PHI (12/20/19). Notes: The Mavs are 10-1 this season when he scores 10+ points … played in 200th career came vs. LAC (11/26/19) … led DAL in games played in 2 of his first 3 seasons (81 in both 2016-17 and 2018-19).

#6 Kristaps Porzingis F • 7-3 • 240 • Cajasol Seville/Latvia

PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG

17.6 9.5 1.4 0.6 2.1 31.2 Last Game: Scored 22 points to go with a career-high 18 rebounds and 3 blocks at PHI (12/20/19). Notes: Has posted 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in a career-best 4 straight games (12/14-12/20/19) … DNP in 2018-19 (left ACL surgery) … named NBA All-Star in 2018 (averaged a career-high 22.7 ppg).

#7 Dwight Powell C • 6-10 • 240 • Stanford/Canada

PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG

8.0 5.0 1.4 0.8 0.5 25.6

Last Game: Recorded 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 25 minutes at PHI (12/20/19). Notes: Increased his scoring average in each of his first 5 seasons (3.1 ppg in 2014-15, 5.8 ppg in 2015-16, 6.7 ppg in 2016-17, 8.5 ppg in 2017-18, 10.6 ppg in 2018-19).

#11 Tim Hardaway Jr. G • 6-5 • 205 • Michigan/USA

PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG

13.5 2.5 1.7 0.6 0.1 25.8

Last Game: Finished with 27 points (7-11 3FGs), 4 rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes at PHI (12/20/19). Notes: Scored 31 points at HOU (11/24/19), his highest-scoring game with DAL … has posted 7 games with 20+ points this season (DAL is 7-2 in those games) … in 2018-19, averaged a career-high 18.1 ppg with NY and DAL.

#13 Jalen Brunson G • 6-1 • 190 • Villanova/USA

PPG RPG APG SPG BPG MPG

8.3 2.7 3.6 0.5 0.0 17.8

Last Game: Scored 11 pionts to go with 7 assists and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes at PHI (12/20/19). Notes: DAL is 10-3 this season when he scores in double figures … recorded his first double-double of the season at MIL (12/16/19) and his second in his next game vs. BOS (12/18/19) .

INJURY REPORT

Seth Curry (low back tightness) is probable; Luka Doncic (right ankle sprain) is out; Delon Wright (right 5th finger sprain) is probable.

STREAK BUSTERS: The Mavericks snapped the Bucks’ 18-game win streak – which was tied for the 11th-longest in NBA history – with a 120-116 victory at Fiserv Forum on 12/16/19. It was the longest win streak broken up by Dallas in franchise history. The previous longest was 12 games, which the team accomplished twice during its championship season in 2010-11 (Dallas ended San Antonio’s 12-game win streak on 11/26/10 and also snapped Miami’s 12-game run on 12/20/10). It was also the second double-digit win streak Dallas ended in 2019-20 (the Mavericks snapped the Lakers’ 10-game win streak with a 114-100 win at STAPLES Center on 12/1/19). The 2010-11 season was the only other year Dallas snapped multiple win streaks of 10-plus games. What’s more, the Mavericks broke up the Bucks’ 18-game win streak without their leading scorer, Luka Dončić, who was out with a right ankle sprain. Dallas became the first team in NBA history to end a win streak of 15-plus games without its leading scorer (in terms of total points). The Mavericks have now snapped a double-digit win streak eight times in franchise history. The first time they busted a win streak of 10-or-more consecutive games was with a 135-109 victory over Denver at home on 4/9/88. All of the other instances since have occurred on the road. The Mavericks followed up their road victory over the Bucks on 12/16/19 by handing the Sixers just their second home loss of the season with a 117-98 win at the Wells Fargo Center on 12/20/19 (Philadelphia moved to 14-2 at home in 2019-20).

LONGEST WIN STREAKS BROKEN BY THE DALLAS MAVERICKS SEASON DATE TEAM SCORE GAMES 2019-20 12/16/19 @ Milwaukee 120-116 18 2010-11 12/20/10 @ Miami 98-96 12 2010-11 11/26/10 @ San Antonio 103-94 12 2001-02 4/14/02 @ Sacramento 113-100 11 1992-93 4/24/93 @ Houston 128-123 11 2019-20 12/1/19 @ L.A. Lakers 114-100 10 2003-04 12/12/03 @ L.A. Lakers 110-93 10 1987-88 4/9/88 vs. Denver 135-109 10

DALLAS’ IMPRESSIVE ROAD START IN 2019-20: The Mavericks have gone 11-2 (.846) on the road to start the season. The only other year Dallas won 11 of its first 13 road games was in its championship season in 2010-11 (the Mavericks also started 11-2 on the road that year). The Mavericks won their first four road contests in 2019-20 (at New Orleans 10/25/19, at Denver 10/29/19, at Cleveland 11/3/19, at Memphis 11/9/19), marking just the second time in franchise history they started a season 4-0 on the road. The only other year they won four-or-more consecutive road games to begin a season was in 2002-03 (Dallas started 7-0 on the road that year). Dallas also became the only NBA team to win its first four road games in 2019-20. After dropping two in a row on the road (at on Boston 11/11/19 and at on New York 11/14/19), the Mavericks have rattled off another seven consecutive road wins from 11/24-12/20/19 (with victories over Houston on 11/24/19, Phoenix on 11/29/19, the L.A. Lakers on 12/1/19, New Orleans on 12/3/19, Detroit in Mexico City on 12/12/19, Milwaukee on 12/16/19 and Philadelphia on 12/20/19). The seven-game road win streak is tied for the third-longest road win streak in franchise history. The team-record is eight consecutive road wins (twice). Below is a list of the longest road win streaks in Mavericks history, as well as a list of some of the more notable wins by Dallas in 2019-20.

NOTABLE ROAD WINS BY DALLAS IN 2019-20 LONGEST ROAD WIN STREAKS BY DALLAS DATE/OPP. SCENARIO RESULT SEASON DATES STREAK 10/29 @ DEN Nuggets entered undefeated (3-0) on the season W, 109-106 2010-11 11/20/10 to 12/27/10 8 11/24 @ HOU Rockets went in riding a 6-game home win streak W, 137-123 2001-02 1/15/02 to 2/12/02 8 12/1 @ LAL Lakers entered riding a 10-game win streak and a 9-1 record at home W, 114-100 2019-20 11/24/19 to 12/20/19 7* 12/16 @ MIL Bucks went in riding an 18-game win streak, including a 13-game home win streak W, 120-116 2002-03 10/30/02 to 11/27/02 7 12/20 @ PHI 76ers entered with a 14-1 record at home W, 117-98 2000-01 12/15/00 to 1/10/01 7 *Active streak PORZINGIS RECORDS 4TH STRAIGHT 20-POINT, 10-REBOUND GAME: Mavericks forward/center Kristaps Porzingis has recorded a career-best four consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound efforts from 12/14-12/20/19. Prior to his current four-game run, Porzingis had gone for 20/10 in back-to-back games twice in his career (once as a rookie with the Knicks from 11/21-11/23/15 and once earlier this season from 11/14-11/16/19). The 7-3 Latvian has also posted at least 20 points and eight boards in each of his last five contests (12/12-12/20/19). His career-long 20-point streak is six games, which he accomplished with the Knicks in 2017-18 (11/3-11/15/17). Porzingis is averaging 22.6 points, 13.0 boards and 2.6 blocks per game over his last five games (12/12-12/20/19).

BRUNSON NAMED SPORTING NEWS COLLEGE BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE DECADE: Mavericks second-year guard Jalen Brunson was recently named the Sporting News college basketball Athlete of the Decade. The former Villanova guard started 115 of 116 games in his three-year college career, winning two national championships with the Wildcats in 2016 and 2018. As a junior in 2017-18, Brunson was named the Consensus National College Player of the Year. He also took home the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard. The Wildcats posted a 103-13 (.888) overall record with Brunson in the lineup, including a 13-1 (.929) mark in NCAA Tournament games.
LUKA’S 20-5-5 STREAK: Mavericks second-year guard Luka Dončić recorded a streak of 20 consecutive games with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists from 11/1-12/12/19, before seeing that run come to an end after suffering a right ankle sprain less than 2 minutes into the game vs. Miami on 12/14/19. The 20-game run by the 20-year-old is the longest such streak since the ABA/NBA merger (1976-77). In fact, the five next longest streaks since the merger were all achieved by players 26-or-older – by Michael Jordan at age 26, Russell Westbrook at ages 26, 28 and 29, and LeBron James at age 33. What’s more, Oscar Robertson (twice) is the only other player in NBA history to produce a 20-5-5 streak of 20-or-more consecutive games. Robertson had a 25-game run from ages 24 to 25 in 1963-64. “The Big O” also had a 29-game run from ages 25 to 26 in 1964-65, which stands as the longest 20-5-5 streak in NBA history.

MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 20 PTS, 5 REB & 5 AST SINCE ABA-NBA MERGER (1976-77)
MOST CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH 20 PTS, 5 REB & 5 AST IN NBA HISTORY RANK PLAYER SEASON DATES STREAK RANK PLAYER SEASON DATES STREAK 1 Luka Donić 2019-20 11/1/19 to 12/12/19 20 1 Oscar