Luka Doncic impressed on his return from injury as he led the Dallas Mavericks to a tight 102-98 victory at the San Antonio Spurs.
After missing four straight games due to a sprained right ankle, the 20-year-old narrowly missed out on a triple-double as he finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to continue to press his case for an All-Star starting spot.
It was good to have Luka back on the court!@luka7doncic | #MFFL pic.twitter.com/vQIU7boePe — Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) December 27, 2019
Meanwhile DeMar Derozan's 21-point haul was not enough to lift San Antonio into the Western Conference's top eight.
In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks managed to pull off a surprise 94-82 win at arch rivals Brooklyn Nets.
A 33-point effort from Julius Randle was enough to hold off a fast-finishing Brooklyn and put an end their three-game losing streak.
The Pistons were firing on all cylinders in Detroit as Christian Wood scored 22 points off the bench to help secure a dominant 132-102 win against the Washington Wizards.
EIGHT players in double figures tonight.@Chriswood_5 led everyone and he's our Player of the Game presented by @Jeep pic.twitter.com/4jWgQcwtjY — Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 27, 2019
Both Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond finished with double-doubles in the 30-point victory.
Elsewhere, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-97, 35 points from Donovan Mitchell led the Utah Jazz to a 121-115 triumph over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves narrowly secured a 105-104 double overtime victory against the Sacramento Kings.
