There was a time when a cold for Luka Doncic was pneumonia for the Mavericks. The team was unable to cope with the absence of their star player and accumulated defeats in games in which they did not know what to play without their compass.

The moves made from the offices in recent times have given the squad greater depth and now the absence of the point guard is taken in stride. This season, in the games in which the Slovenian has not played, the balance is 4-1. He is now suffering from a sprained right wrist, although he has already begun to do individual training and his return is near. There is no urgency either. Before his injury he was not at his best. If he reaches it when he returns, the Mavericks may resemble last year’s runners-up.

The Mavericks added a convincing victory over the Knicks (129-114), with many players at an extraordinary level. In addition to Doncic, Klay Thompson and Daniel Gafford were missing. All of them were starters. However, there were four players with more than 20 points.

Kyrie Irving had 23 with seven rebounds and six assists, Naji Marshall scored 24 in his fourth straight game over 20, Quentin Grimes reached 21 and the cyclothymic Spencer Dinwiddie added another 21 with nine assists. In addition, PJ Washington again demonstrated his importance to the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Results of the day

Hornets 94-98 Heat

Cavaliers 124-135 Hawks

Pacers 121-114 Trail Blazers

Magic 133-119 Bulls

Sixers 115-122 Rockets

Wizards 96-121 Clippers

Mavericks 129-114 Knicks

Grizzlies 131-111 Pistons

Timberwolves 104-115 Kings

Pelicans 93-119 Raptors

Spurs 101-119 Lakers

Suns 117-127 Nets

Jazz 103-122 Nuggets

Warriors 101-105 Thunder

The Mavericks’ start was brilliant with a 28-15 first quarter that turned into a thrashing at halftime (60-38), especially because of the difference in accuracy from three-point range: the home team finished with 17/33, which offers an outstanding 51.5%, and the visitors went with 7/29 (24.1%) after missing the first eight. Neither Jalen Brunson’s season-high 37 points nor Karl-Anthony Towns’ 25+14 could compensate for the outside miscue.

Cavaliers suffer first home defeat

The NBA-leading Cavaliers lost their second game of the season (124-135) and their first at home, where they had a 10-0 record. They were stunned by the Hawks, who were coming off three straight losses. The leader of the revolt was a sensational Trae Young, who dished out 22 assists, breaking his career high and the NBA’s season high. No one in the Atlanta franchise had given so many assists since 1993. He also scored 20 points.

However, it was De’Andre Hunter, who finished with 26 points, and Jalen Johnson, who added 22, who took the most important shots down the stretch. Neither Donovan Mitchell’s 30 points nor the 39 points and 22 rebounds from towers Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen were enough for the Cavaliers, who were defensively weak and conceded their highest point total of the season.

Harden, like old times

James Harden experienced a scoring ecstasy like in the old days. In the victory over the Wizards (96-121), the Clippers guard scored 23 points with seven three-pointers in the first quarter. He finished with 43, his best mark of the season, in just 32 minutes on the court. The Beard had not scored so many points since the 44 he scored against the Pistons in March 2021.

It was the 102nd game in Harden’s career in which he reached 40 points. Only Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are ahead of him. He is the leader in games with at least 40 points and five three-pointers.

Shai resolves the duel between the best in the West… without Curry

The duel between the top two teams in the West, the Thunder and the Warriors, was marred by the absence of Stephen Curry, a last-minute absentee with a sore knee. Oklahoma won 101-105 in San Francisco with a great performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The point guard went for 35 points and also dished out nine assists. He had the invaluable help of Isaiah Hartenstein, whose presence is becoming more and more noticeable after starting the season injured. He had 14+14. Without Curry, the Warriors’ standouts were Draymond Green with 10 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Jonathan Kuminga, who scored 19 points, albeit with poor percentages (8/21 from the field).

Jokic is on an infinite streak

Nikola Jokic is on a roll. Well, he has been for years. The Nuggets center scored 30 points in the win over the Jazz (103-122) and has gone over 30 in five of the last six games. In that span, he is averaging 31.0 and has climbed to fourth place in the NBA statistics. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball and Anthony Davis are better than his 29.7 average.

In the visit to Utah, he also added 10 rebounds and seven assists. It was a balm for Denver, who had just received 145 points from the Knicks and offered a terrible image that unleashed criticism of the team.

Aldama remains solid in the Grizzlies

The Grizzlies, despite the absence of Ja Morant due to a blow to his left knee, had a comfortable win over the Pistons (131-111). Santi Aldama, coming off the bench, had a solid performance with nine points (4/7 shooting) and six rebounds in 23 minutes.

Marcus Smart also came off the bench and made the most of his time on the court to finish with 25 points and 7/11 three-pointers in just 20 minutes. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jake LaRavia scored 19 each for the Grizzlies, who broke the game open in the second quarter with a 37-18 run.