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On a night where Luka Doncic wasn’t wonderful, Steve Kerr details why the Mavs’ star is so important for the NBA

Kerr compared Doncic, who finished with 20 points in the Mavs’ win vs. the Warriors, to Larry Bird.

SAN FRANCISCO – Around the NBA, this time of the season is known as the dog days. That’s especially true, Warriors coach Steve Kerr ruefully noted before Tuesday’s Mavericks-Golden State game, when your team has lost eight straight games “like we have.”

Make it nine.

The Mavericks’ 124-97 victory at the Chase Center over an injury-ravaged Warriors team that has the NBA’s worst record (9-33) was to be expected. Dog-days-like, in that regard.

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But as Kerr noted, any game in which Luka Doncic plays has importance, and appeal, because of the relevance Doncic has attained in just one-and-a-half NBA seasons.

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“He’s really good for the NBA,” Kerr said. “He’s important for the league. And it doesn’t really have anything to do with him coming from Europe. It’s more just what a wonderful basketball player he is.”

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Doncic wasn’t wonderful statistically Tuesday night, missing his first five 3-point attempts and six of his first eight free-throws. Even at that, he finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and didn’t play in the fourth quarter as Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle rested his starters with Wednesday’s game at Sacramento looming.

Doncic didn’t have to be wonderful on a night in which Dwight Powell made all nine of his shots from the field, scored 21 points and pulled down six rebounds. In the last six games, Powell is 36-of-47 (76.6%) from the field.

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The Mavericks (25-15) improved to 13-5 on the road and completed their first season sweep (3-0) of the Warriors since 2002-2003, when they won all four meetings.

In this season’s three games against Golden State, Doncic totaled 86 points, 30 rebounds and 18 assists.

“He’s different,” Kerr said. “He’s got this incredible knack for seeing the floor, being a step ahead. He reminds me a little bit of Larry Bird in that regard; he’s always a step ahead in the chess match.

“And he’s got James Harden skillset with crossovers and step-backs, so he’s a brilliant player. He’s so young. He’s going to be one of the cornerstones of this league for a long time, so he’s very important to the NBA."

In this season’s previous two meetings against Golden State, the Mavericks scored 142 and 141 points, shot 46-of-89 from 3-point distance and won by a combined 68 points.

Carlisle was told of Kerr’s comparisons of Doncic to Bird and Harden, but as he’s said several times this season, Carlisle reiterated, “I don’t do comparisons.

“That’s all legitimate. But I stay away from the comparison game because I think it’s important that this kid is his own player – and he truly is.

“Look, each month he continues to develop and learn more and hone certain skills even more. So it’s very exciting. He’s a very exciting player to watch. I understand the hype.”

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