In the final moments before halftime, Luka Doncic rose from the bench and raised his hand to celebrate consecutive three-pointers from Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.

The Dallas Mavericks superstar was inactive in Saturday’s 113-97 win over the LA Clippers due to a bruised left heel, but he had the luxury of watching his team win again without him in the lineup.

After failing to stay competitive in their last game against the Clippers two days ago, the Mavericks bounced back thanks to another balanced scoring effort across the roster.

Eight players scored in double figures for Dallas (18-10), which was a key to success when the Mavericks were without Doncic due to a wrist injury that cost him five games in November. Quentin Grimes scored a team-high 20 points off the bench, including 14 points in the fourth quarter. Irving added 15 points and five assists. Daniel Gafford had 13 points and six rebounds. Thompson also added 16 points on 4 of 6 from distance. Naji Marshall had 12. Dereck Lively recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds along with five assists. Spencer Dinwiddie had 15.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue emphasized during his pregame press conference that the Mavericks play faster and attack the basket more often when Doncic is not in the lineup.

“The biggest thing that stands out is that they play faster,” Lue said. “They play fast by coming out in transition and secondly, when they have the ball on the second side, the boys attack. Most of the time they choose Luka or Kyrie again. But now you have guys coming out of those corners, attacking and getting to the basket. Everyone is alive. That makes it much more difficult.”

The Mavericks’ second play was an example of Dallas’ emphasis on creating as many fast-break opportunities as possible without its franchise player. Thompson made a steal and the ball ended up in the hands of PJ Washington Jr in just seven seconds. The result was a 3-pointer and the first basket of the game.

The Mavericks entered Saturday’s game with a record of 12-8 with Doncic and a record of 5-2 without him. Thursday’s loss was the first without Doncic and Irving, meaning they missed nearly 53 points of production.

A look at the stats shows that there isn’t much of a difference whether Doncic is in the lineup or not. The Mavericks entered the game averaging 119 points with Doncic and 117.3 points without him. Dallas collects 44.8 rebounds with Doncic, their leading player, and 48.3 without him. Assists are up for Doncic as the Mavericks have 26.3 assists with their star and 24.7 without him.

Doncic wasn’t able to provide assists on the court, but he had plenty of helpers off the court.

Doncic smiled toward the end of the first quarter when a promotional video highlighting the launch of his new foundation aired on the Jumbotron. Doncic’s foundation values ​​revitalizing the joy of youth sports. He hosted 750 children from the Dallas area as his guests at the game, and although he made time to talk to them before the game, they didn’t get to see the Mavericks’ star in action.

The Mavericks host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday in the third game of their four-game homestand. Doncic returned from his most recent injury (wrist) against the struggling Blazers just before they hosted the Grizzlies on December 3rd.

This pattern could repeat itself. Since Doncic took part in “court work” the day before Saturday’s game, it is possible he could return against the Blazers to suit up before the highly anticipated Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

X/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2

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