The [Dallas Mavericks](https://www.mavsmoneyball.com) held on to win their seventh straight Saturday night by defeating the [Toronto Raptors](https://www.raptorshq.com), 125-118. Luka Doncic led Dallas with a 30 point, 13 rebound, 11 assist triple-double. Gradey Dick had 27 in defeat for the Raptors.
The Mavericks and Raptors played an energetic first quarter, with elite offense often beating out solid defense. Kyrie Irving was a flame thrower in the first, pouring in 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting. But Toronto wasn’t about go quietly, hitting seven of 11 two-pointers to counter the strong three-point shooting from Dallas. The Mavericks ended the frame up seven, leading 35-28.
Dallas extended their first-quarter lead through continuous runouts and offensive rebounds. But the Mavericks had just enough miscues defensively and Gradey Dick hit open threes for Toronto to hang around. Toronto trimmed the Dallas lead down to 13 just before half only for Luka to bury a 35 foot floater. Dallas led 70-54 at the half.
Things got bleak for the Raptors in the third, with the Mavericks extending the lead to 20 and forcing a Toronto timeout. That lead grew to as many as 24 before the Raptors ate into the Dallas lead. The Mavericks actually managed to rebuild the lead back to 24 before getting unbelievably slopping and letting the Raptors back into the game. Dallas took a 100-87 lead into the fourth.
The momentum carried over for Toronto as they slowly but surely pressed Dallas, cutting the lead to single digits. The Mavericks kept Toronto at bay, holding on to a lead that ranged between six and eight points from the five-minute mark until Dick cashed a huge three with 1:35 remaining. An overturned goaltending call by Dereck Lively allowed Dallas to hold onto the five-point lead. Toronto just didn’t have enough for the comeback. The Mavericks leave Canada with a 125-118 lead.
Now, some thoughts