Mavericks hold off Raptors for 7th straight win

Luka Doncic had 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and the visiting Dallas Mavericks defeated the Toronto Raptors 125-118 on Saturday night for their seventh straight win.

It was the second consecutive triple-double for Doncic and the 79th of his career, good for seventh on the all-time list.

Kyrie Irving added 29 points for the Mavericks, who have won 11 of their past 12 games. Klay Thompson scored 20 points, P.J. Washington scored 13 and Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 11.

Gradey Dick scored 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost two games in a row. Scottie Barnes added 19 points and 14 assists, Jakob Poeltl had 20 points and seven rebounds and RJ Barrett scored 18 points. Kelly Olynyk made his season debut and went for 13 points.

Dallas led by as many as 24 in the third quarter before the Raptors staged a ferocious comeback attempt.

It was 100-76 Mavericks following a layup from Washington with 2:47 to go in the third, which Toronto closed with an 11-0 run. Olynyk canned a 3-pointer and sank a pair of free throws during the outburst, which had the Raptors within 100-87 heading into the fourth.

Barnes opened the final period with a jumper to get Toronto's deficit down to 11, and the hosts were later within five, 120-115, after Dick connected from beyond the arc with 1:35 remaining.

However, Dallas took all the wind out of the Raptors' sails by making four free throws before Toronto scored again on a Barnes triple. That made it 124-118, and the Mavericks held on for the win.

Doncic and Irving combined for 33 points before the break to send Dallas into halftime with a commanding 70-54 advantage. Barrett netted 14 points over the first 24 minutes of action for Toronto.

Irving exploded for 16 points in the first quarter to guide the Mavericks to a 35-28 edge.

--Field Level Media