Luka Doncic hailed a "real fun" performance from the Dallas Mavericks after they bounced back from Thursday's loss to the Houston Rockets with a comfortable win over the Orlando Magic. (More NBA News)
Coming off the back of their𝄹 second defeat of the season, the Mavs downed a short-handed Magꦏic side by a 108-85 scoreline to improve to 4-2 for 2024-25.
Doncic had 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while team-mate Daniel Gafford added a season-high 18 points and eight rebounds in just𓂃 20 minutes o𝕴n court.
But it was a suffocating defensive performance that kept out an Orlando team deprived of injured star Paolo Banchero and won Dallasಌ plaudits, and Doncic enjoyed his role.
"Today was real fun," he said. "We were g༒uarding everybody, defending, rebounding, playing with a lot of pace. So that's fun for me."
Four-time NBA champion ൲Klay Thompson, who arrived from the Golden State Warriors during the offseason, had a q💜uiet night with just nine points for Dallas.
However, head coach Jason Kidd was pleased with his all-round contribution, saying: "I thought he played a great gam𒐪e.
"I know we look at him for scoring 🅺and shooting threes, but I thought his playmaking, his energy was high. He was moving on both ends at a very high level."
Dallas are next in action against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, while the 3-4 Ma🐭gic🐼 visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.
