Finn Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Chicago Bulls to overcome a historic triple-double by Slovenian Luka Doncic to beat the Dallas Mavericks 117-101 in the NBA on Sunday.
Garrett Temple scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and the Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Bulls shot 50% in the first half and led by 19 points at a time en route to a 67-52 lead in the third quarter.
All-star Doncic finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists to record the 29th triple-double of his career and surpass the legendary Michael Jordan and move to 15th on the all-time list in this category.
Doncic, frustrated, said the blame for the loss fell squarely on his shoulders because he played selfishly.
“The second half I played terrible,” Doncic said. “That was up to me. I was being a bit selfish because I had 30 points in the first half. That wasn’t me in the second half. I have to do much better in the second half. That’s just about me.”
Doncic shot 11 of 18 from the paint in the first half. He finished with six triples (18 points).
The Slovenian became the fourth player in NBA history to record at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game and the youngest to do so. Oscar Robertson did it five times.
The Bulls had six players with double-digit scoring, and their bench outscored the Mavericks 61-22.
Chicago’s ball movement was excellent and their defense had 14 steals, their most of the season.
This was Markkanen’s second game after missing seven due to covid-19 protocols.
“I was a little short on my shot and trying to get my legs back,” Markkanen said. “In terms of conditioning, I feel pretty good.”
Latvian Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and eight rebounds for Dallas in his third game since recovering from surgery on his right knee.
– Knicks break negative streak –
On the other hand, the New York Knicks snapped their five-game losing streak in style, submitting hosts Boston Celtics 105-75.
Julius Randle scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and RJ Barrett added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who ruined the season debut of Celtics All-Star guard Kemba Walker, absent from the first 11 games with an injury in the left knee.
Walker left the game in the third quarter with an apparent rib injury, but said he was happy to be back.
“It felt really good to be there,” Walker said. “I had forgotten how good it feels to be there.”
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points that were left without Jayson Tatum, who remained in quarantine due to covid-19 protocols.
The Knicks never held back, increasing their lead to 11 in the first quarter and 15 in the second.
In Denver, the visiting Utah Jazz defeated the Nuggets 109-105 thanks to 23 points from Jordan Clarkson off the bench, the team’s best scorer.
For the Nuggets, the best were Nikola Jokic with 34 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, and Jamal Murray with 30 points, while the Argentine Facundo Campazzo had five and two serves for a score in 11 minutes off the bench.
Of the seven games scheduled on matchday two were postponed by covid-19: Cleveland-Washington and Philadelphia-Oklahoma City.
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