DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 53 points in his return to the lineup and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 12 in the fourth quarter as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105 on Monday night.
Four of Doncic’s five career 50-point games have come this season. He scored a career-best 60 against the New York Knicks in a game that went to overtime on Dec. 27.
His 53 points tied for second-most in Dallas history with Dirk Nowitzki’s total against the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2004.
Doncic had 24 points in the first quarter and 18 in the third. Second in the NBA going in with an average of 33 points per game, he returned after spraining his left ankle three-plus minutes into last Thursday’s game at Phoenix and then missing Saturday’s game at Utah.
Usually animated and vocal on the court, Doncic was particularly involved in a running conversation with Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen.
“From the first quarter, he was just chirping,” Doncic said. “I don’t want to say the words. I have no problem with that. It’s basketball. It gets me going, for sure.”
The Mavericks (27-25) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the four-team play-in positions.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 29 points and Saddiq Bey scored 18 — including five 3-pointers — for the Pistons (13-39), who have lost six of seven.
Doncic’s final basket was a shot that bounced off the front rim and dropped in to put Dallas ahead 109-105 with 46 seconds left. On the Pistons’ next possession, Bogdanovic missed a long 3-pointer near the right sideline amid traffic and landed on his backside out of bounds.
“We thought Bojan got fouled,” Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. “You still have to play in all those situations and…