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 Dallas Mavericks downed a short-handed Orlando Magic side by a 108-85 scoreline to improve to 4-2 for 2024-25
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 Magic 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 just 20 minutes on court.
But it was a suffocating defensive performance that kept out an Orlando team deprived of injured star Paolo Banchero and won Dallas plaudits, and Doncic enjoyed his role.
"Today was real fun," he said. "We were guarding everybody, defending, rebounding, playing with a lot of pace. So that's fun for me."
Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson, who arrived from the Golden State Warriors during the offseason, had a quiet 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 game.
"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 Magic visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.