Nets give up 40-point triple-double to Luka Doncic in OT loss to Mavericks – Reading Eagle

Luka Doncic runs around the court with his tongue sticking out, both hands at his sides and pointing backwards.

It was a gesture of sorts for the Las Vegas favorite to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award after he plays.

Only this time, the big play handed the Nets their fourth loss in their first five games. It was a behind-the-back pass to a wide-open Reggie Bullock at the top of the key for a three-pointer that gave the Mouse a nine-point lead in overtime that the Nets never overcame in their eventual 129-125 loss at Barclays Center.

Doncic diligently got to every defender the Nets threw at him. He finished with a 40-point triple-double and surpassed the heroic efforts of Durant and Irving.

In front of a sold-out Barclays Center crowd, he had the last laugh.

And the Nets are nothing to laugh about.

They’ve lost three straight games and are touting a 1-4 record, making them, on paper, only better than winless teams, even though they have two likely Hall of Famers on their roster and one active in Steve Nash in as the head coach of the team. The Nets believe they’re a better team than their track record suggests — that they’ll peak late in the year after building chemistry and tinkering with rotations throughout the season.

But at the moment, names on paper are not winning games.

Durant scored 37 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field, but cooled off after making nine of his first 12 shots. Irving also scored 37 points, but he shot 14 of 31 from the field and 5 of 14 from beyond the arc. And Simmons scored another single-digit result, although he made life difficult for Doncic on the other end of the floor.

Simmons had seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. He stole the ball from Doncic in the closing seconds of regulation before dishing to Durant for the tying transition dunk.

But by the time Durant and Irving got things going in overtime, Doncic had already decided the game was his to win.

Five other Nets players scored in double figures, including former Net Spencer Dinwiddie, who started and scored 11 points.

And for the Nets, only second-year guard David Duke Jr. and starting wing Royce O’Neal registered double-digit points. Joe Harris sat out the second game of a back-to-back with ankle maintenance, and Seth Curry did not play as he is also struggling from offseason ankle surgery.

The Nets have an opportunity to right the ship against an Indiana Pacers team expected to struggle late in the season. Expectations may not matter at this point in the season as both teams boast 1-4 records.

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