Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving delivered a dazzling display, combining for 85 points as the Dallas Mavericks overcame the Houston Rockets in overtime to secure a thrilling 147-136 win.
Irving scored a season-high 48 points and Doncic produced 37 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Mavericks recovered from trailing by 22 points at one stage.
The Mavericks completed the stunning comeback but needed a dramatic buzzer-beating three-pointer from Dante Exum to send the game into overtime.
“I’m depleted. Energetic, but I’m depleted,” Irving said after the match. “We kept battling and kept doing the little things and trusting one another.”
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was delighted with his superstar duo as the franchise edged closer to sealing the fifth seed in the Western Conference play-offs.
“It’s just about the trust, the talk and understanding that we have each other’s back,” he said. “No matter what’s happening, if you’re not shooting well, there’s always the encouragement that you can make the next shot.
“Just understand that we’re playing for something bigger than the back of the jersey – we’re playing for one another. You can see the chemistry of the team when you look at the celebration at the end.
“Understand that it takes a long time to build that and that just doesn’t happen overnight. The beauty of Kai and Luka hugging there at the end – just the trust – those two trust in their team-mates that were out on the floor. It was huge.”
The result means that the Rockets are no longer in contention for a place in the postseason despite a streak of winning 11 consecutive games earlier this season.
“They fought back into it, and we kind of dug ourselves back out to take that late lead,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “I felt like we outplayed them for the majority of the game, and Dillon [Brooks] was a big part of that.”
Elsewhere, it was another disappointing night for the Milwaukee Bucks who slumped to a 122-109 defeat to the New York Knicks.
The Bucks have now lost six of their last seven matches and slipped to four consecutive defeats as they continue to limp into the postseason.
The Knicks rallied from a half-time deficit to claim the victory with Jalen Brunson dropping 43 points.
“The ball goes through the hoop against them,” Brunson said. “I’m averaging 37, but we’re 2-3 (against the Bucks). Before tonight, we were 1-3.
“So no matter what the points was, we weren’t getting wins. Obviously tonight we found a way to win the game. Their game plan was working for the first three of four games.”
The Bucks also lost Khris Middleton through injury in the second quarter after having his tooth knocked out due to an inadvertent collision with Knicks players Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Meanwhile, there was more injury concern for LA Lakers star Anthony Davis as he missed the second-half of their 127-117 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Davis was inadvertently hit in the face by Wolves player Kyle Anderson in the first quarter where he appeared to pick up an eye injury.
“He’s extremely valuable,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said of Davis. “Everyone around here knows that. Everything he brings on both sides of the ball, it’s tough.
“Already being without Bron [Lebron James] and seeing him go out, it’s tough. But my hat’s off to our guys. They didn’t feel sorry for themselves. They kept competing all the way through.”
The LA Clippers secured a dramatic comeback to seal a 120-118 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to a stunning performance from Paul George.
The Clippers were trailing by 26 points at one stage but George inspired them with a game-high 39 points which included the game-winning shot in the final few seconds.
“I knew we weren’t ourselves,” George said of a first half that saw his team concede 80 points to Cleveland. “And so at that point, I was locked in and committed to do whatever it took to win.
“I wanted to stay in and I just felt we were making a good push. And he trusted me to just continue it on. But I’ve been saying, I just played until the clock hit zero.
“I thought we were in striking range and my aggression just got higher, and so it was just a will to win at that point.”
In an action-packed night of NBA action, there were also wins for the Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers and the New Orleans Pelicans.
NBA results on Sunday night
- Clevaland Cavaliers 118-120 LA Clippers
- Houston Rockets 136-147 Dallas Mavericks
- Miami Heat 115-117 Indiana Pacers
- New Orleans Pelicans 113-105 Phoenix Suns
- Washington Wizards 122-130 Toronto Raptors
- Chicago Bulls 98-113 Orlando Magic
- Oklahoma City Thunder 121-118 Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers 107-124 Boston Celtics
- Philadelphia 76ers 133-126 San Antonio Spurs
- New York Knicks 122-109 Milwaukee Bucks
- Sacramento Kings 107-77 Brooklyn Nets
- Utah Jazz 110-118 Golden State Warriors
- Minnesota Timberwolves 127-117 LA Lakers
