Luka Doncic starred as the Dallas Mavericks beat the injury-hit Golden State Warriors 142-94 – their heaviest defeat since 1973.
The 20-year-old Slovenian scored 35 points against a team missing its star players through injury.
The Warriors, who named the minimum eight players for the game, have the worst record in the NBA this season.
“Flush it down the toilet. Move on. You don’t take anything from a game like this,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
His side – NBA finalists in each of the past five seasons – sit bottom of the Western Conference with three wins and 13 losses.
But their defeat in Dallas was their biggest since a playoff game loss by 56 points to the Lakers 46 years ago.
Doncic even outscored the whole Warriors side in the first quarter, with 22 points to their 16.
He went on to record a second straight triple-double with 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
“He’s a very special player on a special run,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. “This is not big news. It’s getting to be pretty normal.”
Elsewhere, Kawhi Leonard returned from injury and paired up with fellow summer recruit Paul George for the first time as the Los Angeles Clippers recorded a 107-104 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics. The two combined for 42 points in their first game together.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 33 points and 11 rebounds saw the Milwaukee Bucks to their fifth win in a row – and ninth from 10 – as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 135-127.
And Houston Rockets’ eight-game winning streak was ended in a 105-95 defeat by the Denver Nuggets, for whom Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 27 points – despite James Harden also scoring 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Russell Westbrook adding 25 points.
Watch the full highlights below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSK-Xt9dV1c
