The Mavericks were on fire as Luka Doncic and Irving out-starred Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, who combined for 58 points.
They beat the Suns 123-113, pulling them into a sixth-place tie with Phoenix. The thrilling game also gave them the tiebreaker of the season.
Doncic played only 38 minutes while Irving played 35.
“Luka wants to play 48,” Jason Kidd said, smiling, “but he can still get his numbers in 30 minutes or less.”
Before the new signings, the Mavs were among the league’s worst rebounding and defensive teams.
Daniel Gafford, and rookie Dereck Lively II were impressive for the Mavericks defense.
“They’re huge now, with him and Lively,” the Suns’ coach said of Gafford. “Having a big monster in there like that makes them bigger on the glass. And, you know, another lob catcher. Bigger defensively at the rim.
Kyle Kuzma spoke highly of Gafford immediately after his old teammate went off for 16 points and 17 rebounds against the Wizards in 24 minutes.
“Gafford’s got the easiest job in sports now,” Kuzma said. “He’s just got to catch the ball in the middle of the key and he just has to make the right play.
“I’m happy for him.”
Doncic is averaging a career-high and league-leading 34.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.6 assists while shooting 49.2 percent overall and a career-high 37.9 percent from deep.
He is the first player since LeBron James to record at least 10,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 3,000 assists before turning 25 years old.
“[It’s] amazing,” Doncic said of his new-look supporting cast. “I think we have an amazing team and seven in a row—it hasn’t happened for a while. I’m really happy with the guys we have on our team.”
