Luka Doncic eclipses Michael Jordan in the record books; Mavericks comeback falls short against Kings

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Luka Doncic vs. the Sacramento Kings

On a special day for the Dallas Mavericks' 20-year old guard, the Sacramento Kings play spoiler. 

The Kings raced out to a 20-point half-time lead, before the Mavs made a game of it with a strong second half, but they fell just short, ending their five-game win streak.

Although Doncic went on to make history, the Mavericks suffered their second home loss in the past month. 

Here's a look at the biggest takeaways from this entertaining game:

Luka eclipses MJ

When he knocked down a 3-pointer at 2:48 mark of the third quarter, Luka Doncic recorded his 19th consecutive game of at least 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists. 

In 35 minutes in this game, he finished with 27 points (10-24 FG's), eight assists, and seven rebounds on a rough shooting night by his standards. 

During his streak, Doncic has averaged 31.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists, with the Mavs going 13-6 over that period.

The late no-call

Very early in the third quarter, at the 10:49 mark, the Mavericks trailed by their largest margin of 24 (73-49).

From then on, the Mavs began their fight back. The rest of the third quarter, they outscored the Kings 29-19, bringing the deficit down to as little as two points with 33.8 seconds left in the game. 

After the Kings missed their shot at extending the lead on the ensuing possession, the Mavs had a chance to tie things up (with 13.4 seconds remaining) and maybe even take a lead but Doncic, off a spin move, missed the floater on his drive.

The reigning Rookie of the Year was arguing with the referee that he was fouled.

DOncic told reporters post-game that he just needed to move on to the next play.

Kings finally win a close game on the road

Following this game, the Kings have played 13 games on the road, of which they have only won four.

Excluding this game, in their last nine road games, they had won just two, with five of their seven losses coming by a margin of five points or less. This is the team's first road win where the game's final margin is five points or less.

Nemanja Bjelica was the team's top-scorer with a season-high and tied career-high 30 points (13-18 FG's). The Serbian was a game-high +14 in his 34 minutes on the floor while also recording seven rebounds and four assists.

The Kings had five other players who finished with double-digit scoring, led by Buddy Hield's 26 points (10-15 FG's). 

Courtesy of the win, the Kings snap a four-game road losing streak. They move on to play Houston in the second game of a back-to-back. 

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