On April 10, 2024, Beijing time, the 19-59 Hornets will host the 48-30 Mavericks, the Mavericks are currently ranked fifth in the West, 2 wins behind the fourth Clippers, 2 wins ahead of the sixth-place Suns, the Clippers will next 2 games against the Suns, the Mavericks still have hope to surpass the Clippers in the rankings, facing the weak team Hornets Mavericks must win, Mavericks starters: Doncic + Irving + Jones + Washington + Gafford starters, Hornets starters: Micic + Treman + Bridges + Miller + Gwee.
In the first quarter of the game, Doncic, Gafford and Jones scored, Gwee, Micic, and Miller responded, the two sides were 11-11, Doncic went on a rampage and scored continuously, Kleber, Hardaway, and Exem also teamed up to score, and the Hornets fell into a scoring drought, and the Mavericks played a 25-3 terrifying offensive with a difference of 22 points, Treman and Poku scored, and the Mavericks led 36-18 in the first quarter, Doncic scored 21 points in the first quarter, which was his seventh single quarter score of 20+ this season, setting a career record of 20+ points in a single quarter in a single season.
In the second quarter of the game, Irving, Gafford and Hardaway teamed up to score, although the Hornets scored Bertans and Gwee, but the difference expanded to 24 points, Bertans, Miller, Bridges chased the difference to 15 points, Hardaway, Kleber, Doncic expanded the difference to 24 points, Bridges, Micic, Treman scored, Kleber scored 5 points in a row, and the Mavericks led 69-47 at halftime. Doncic finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists on 9-of-16 shooting in the half, while Irving finished with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks on 4-of-8 shooting.
In the third quarter of the game, Miller and Bridges scored three points, Doncic scored three points, and Gafford scored continuously, and the difference came to 27 points, Bridges, Miller, and Gwee scored, Doncic, Gafford and Jones responded, with a difference of 23 points, Micic, Miller, and Gwee scored, Irving, Hardaway, and Doncic responded, with a difference of 24 points, Bridges, Treman and Richards scored continuously, and the difference reached 14 points, and the Mavericks led 97-83 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter of the game, Irving shot, the Mavericks led by 16 points, Richards and Treman chased the difference to 11 points, Gafford , Irving, Doncic scored in a row, although Bertans and Miller chased the points, but the difference expanded to 18 points, the Hornets couldn't score after a pause, Jones and Gafford expanded the difference to 24 points, there were 4 minutes left in the game, the suspense was lost, the two sides withdrew the main force, and finally the Mavericks beat the Hornets 130-104.
Doncic finished with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on 13-of-25 shooting (8-of-17 from three-point range), his 16th 30+ triple-double this season, a league record, followed by Jokic's 11. Irving had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 blocks on 6-of-15 shooting, Gafford had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks on 12-of-12 shooting, Hardaway had 15 points and 4 boards, and Kleber had 10 points and 6 boards.
Bridges had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 8-of-15 shooting, Miller had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, Gervais had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Treman had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and Bertans had 13 points and 4 boards.
After the Mavericks win, the gap with the Suns expanded, with a lead of 2.5 wins, the Mavericks have a mutual advantage in the face of the Suns this season, and the Suns should have no hope of catching up with the Mavericks, the top five in the West can be said to be settled, and another suspense in the NBA has disappeared.