With a focus on building momentum following a needed victory over the Miami Heat in their previous outing, the  Dallas Mavericks (36-28) won/lost against the Detroit Pistons (10-53) with 14-124 being the final score.

The Mavs jumped out to an early 13-6 lead after Doncic converted a catch-and-shoot jumper from beyond the arc. The Pistons quickly responded with a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game midway through the opening period. Detroit took an 18-17 lead forcing a turnover, leading to Cunningham finding James Wiseman for an alley-oop dunk in transition.

Neither team managed to create much for separation early, resulting in the Mavs being up 35-33 at the end of the first quarter. Kyrie Irving managed to start strong, scoring 11 points in the opening period, leading all scorers through this point, but went scoreless for the remainder of the half.

Doncic and Cunningham attempted to guide their respective teams throughout the second quarter. Led by Doncic, Dallas was up six points at numerous points in the second period before the Pistons rallied to cut it to two points by doubling Doncic for a stretch.

Doncic entered the game with five consecutive games with a 30-point triple-double and already had 26 points, six assists, and five rebounds before halftime. It was the Slovenian superstar’s seventh half of the season recording 25-5-5, while the rest of the NBA only has four combined. Cunningham had a similar stat line with 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Coming out of halftime, the Mavs began on a 10-4 run, pushing their advantage to double figures (79-69) for the first time in the game. Dallas went on to lead by 13 points and often held a double-figure edge with Doncic continuing to set the tone offensively, coupled with heightened defensive execution.

The Pistons did make it a nine-point game with 3:52 left in the third period using a run. A barrage of 3-pointers from Tim Hardaway Jr. while Doncic was on the bench helped push the Mavs up to 16 points (104-88) to end the period, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the quarter.

The separation the Mavs created occurred after going from allowing the Pistons to score 32.5 points per quarter in the first half to holding Detroit to scoring only 23 in the third quarter. Dallas had a 12-point scoring differential during the frame.

The Mavs began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, with Doncic dishing out two assists during the stretch. Dallas was up by a 23-point margin (111-88) as a result. Detroit proved unable to make any sort of rallying effort for the remainder of the game given the deficit the team faced.

With 7:03 left to play, Jalen Duren and P.J. Washington got into a scuffle after Duren fouled Daniel Gafford on a finish attempt. After a lengthy review from the officiating crew, Duren was ejected but Washington did not. Doncic made the technical free throw followed by Gafford splitting his two attempts, growing the Mavs’ lead to 25.

Doncic hauled in his 10th rebound with 3:17 remaining regulation, achieving a triple-double and extending his two historic streaks. He recorded his sixth consecutive game with a 30-point triple and his fifth straight 35-point triple-double. Both of those streaks are an NBA record. He checked out of the game after this feat.

Looking ahead, the Mavs will end a two-game road trip with a matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.