Wednesday, August 5, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribvunemedia.net

#WITH the country now locked down again and no venue to train on, men’s national soccer coach Nesley Jean said he’s hoping that he can still get the Bahamas Football Association’s team ready for the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup QATAR 2022.

#The Bahamas will be one of 30 teams in the new CONCACAF Qualifiers with three rounds for three and-a-half World Cup slots.

#The first round (30 teams) will be played between the CONCACAF Member Associations ranked 6-35 (Bah-33), based on the FIFA Rankings as of July 16, 2020.

#The 30 men’s national teams will be drawn into six groups of five teams in a seeded draw. Each team will play every team in their group once, playing a total of 4 matches – two home and two away. These games will be played in the FIFA match windows of October 2020 and November 2020. At the end of the first round, the six group winners will progress to the second round.

#In preparation for the qualifier, Jean said there are at least 50 players based locally and abroad, who are eligible for the team selection. But he noted that the problem is getting the players together for a tryout.

#“We have an app programme that we are using to try and keep the guys motivated, but there’s only so much you can do to keep them motivated for so long using the app,” Jean said.

#“In terms of the tournament, we’re looking forward to it, but with this virus going around, we have to take the necessary precautions and we are waiting for some answers from the Ministry of Health on how we should proceed.”

#With the games tentatively set for either October or November, Jean said they still have a very small window to prepare, but it won’t be sufficient, considering that they have to look at players from home and abroad.

#“It’s important for us to be ready for this tournament because we have never qualified for the second round so going into these games, it’s a major boost for ourselves and the country on a whole,” he lamented.

#“But with this pandemic, there’s nothing we can do at the moment. So we are waiting and watching to see what happens because if this virus doesn’t go away, they might have to cancel the tournament.”

#Jean, who took over as the head coaching job two years ago, said every tournament he goes into, he wants to evaluate the current team members on their previous performances and assess the younger players who have the potential to make the team.

#“We have some players in Europe whom we didn’t call the last tournament because they were too far away and there are some players who are in the United States, who couldn’t get out of school, so all of these players we will look at and see if they available so that we can start to put a squad together.”

#Looking at the players available for national team duties, Jean said there’s much more than when he was an active member of the team when the numbers were much smaller for consideration.

#“Now everyone knows that they have to be on top of their toes because they know there’s a lot at stake,” he stated. “It’s good competition for me as a coach, but I like it. That is what we need. We need competition in every area to get this team much better.”

#After playing on the national team as a striker for more than 20 years, Jean hung up his soccer boots to roam the sidelines as the new coach, replacing Dion Godet, the last coach he played for.

#“When the BFA came around and asked me if I wanted to be the new coach, I told them I would give it a shot and see how it goes,” he said.

#“With my experience, I was happy to be able to give my experience to the young players. It’s not easy being a coach. You have to be up late at night, watching videos and trying to find ways that you can push the team forward.”

#Last year, the Bahamas finished as group winners with 10 points, and earned a berth in both League B and the 2021 Gold Cup qualifiers.

#The team, coached by Jean, began the series when they defeated Bonaire 2-1 at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium back in September, the first game of the home-and-away series.

#The Bahamas topped the British Virgin Islands 4-0 on October 9 at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis.

#On November 14, the team returned home with a 3-0 win over BVI. They closed out the stage with a 1-1 draw against Bonaire at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao, to solidify the top spot in League C, Group B.

#Based on what he saw then and what he has in the pipeline, Jean said he is confident that the federation can field a solid team to make their presence felt in the region.

#“The team is pretty strong. If we can get all of the players that we want, we could be very strong,” Jean said. “We want to try and get a base core of players at home that we can put in a training squad. If we can do that, it would make it a lot easier when we have to look at those players who are away and how we can insert them into the team rotation.”

#The coronavirus, however, has made it difficult for Jean to accomplish that goal. Although the players are using an app that the federation can track to ensure that they are doing the right training regimen, Jean said there’s nothing like getting the players on the field to further assess their skills.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribvunemedia.net

#Without any response to their request to stage practice to select the national teams for the under-17 boys and girls skills challenge, the Bahamas Basketball Federation had no other choice than to withdraw from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Americas Region competition for qualification for the World Cup Skills Challenge.

#Federation president Mario Bowleg said they were so disappointed in not getting any response from the Ministry of Health, they had to inform FIBA yesterday that they will be withdrawing the teams, even though they had missed the deadline of August 1 for the competition scheduled for this weekend.

#“Understanding the Competent Authority and agreeing to their decision to impose such measures to control this pandemic, it’s in poor taste when you don’t get a response from those who we would have sent an e-mail to, explaining the protocol for the competition and the protocol imposed by the health officials from the Bahamas,” Bowleg said.

#“The skills challenge is only one person on the court at a time. It’s similar to what they do in the NBA All-Star weekend. But we never received a response, even after we explained to them and indicating the time frame that was against us to practice and to cut a team. We never got a response. So we did the next best thing and that is to contact FIBA and explained to them that we will have to withdraw the teams.”

#The teams, whose coaching staff was headed by Marvin Henfield, had a total of 116 athletes, including 89 males from New Providence and eight from Grand Bahama with 19 females from New Providence, registered to participate in the trials.

#While it would not have been practical for the players to travel from Grand Bahama as the borders were closed, Bowleg said they felt they had sufficient players in Nassau to make up the 10-member teams for the boys and girls.

#“We just couldn’t put a team out there who never had an opportunity to practice, or to prepare themselves for the competition,” Bowleg said.

#“But with this being a virtual competition, which means there’s no contact whatsoever, if they had taken the opportunity to read what we had presented to them or to try and figure it out, they would have been able to see that we would have taken the steps guided by them to protect the players, we could have still prepared a team.”

#Bowleg, however, said it was not in the best interest for the federation to just try to put the team together without a practice to compete. The good thing, he noted, is that FIBA will not be penalising the Bahamas for withdrawing because of the circumstances. But he said he was just disappointed that they never got a response.

#“Life has to go on. We are trying to live in this new norm and sports is one that we have to live with,” Bowleg said. “The NBA and the WNBA is playing in a bubble in Florida.

#“So we have to find ways and means of how we are going to proceed with sports in the various disciplines. The skills challenge would have been an ideal way for us to show and prove that contact sports can still be played without any contact in a virtual competition with social distance.”

#Once the teams were selected, the federation was hoping to play either out of the Kendal Isaacs or AF Adderley Gymnasium for the Americas tournament, scheduled for August 10-16. If successful, the teams will advance to the World Cup finals, set for August 17-23.

Steven Gardiner (file photo)

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

#As he completed what turned out to be the climax of a shortened track and field season, Bahamian quarter-miler Steven Gardiner went out with a bang at the American Track Meet in Georgia over the weekend.

#Gardiner, who didn’t get a chance to compete in any 400m races this season, won the men’s 200 metres on Saturday in a time of 20.19 seconds.

#The reigning world champion in Doha, Qatar, last year won the race over American Chris Belcher, who was second in 21.12. Aurel Tchunbi got third in 21.57.

#Bahamian Cameron Parker also competed in the event, finishing fourth in in 21.79. Parker also ran in the men’s 100m where he was seventh in 10.83. American Kendall Williams won the race in 10.29.

#Gardiner, the 24-year-old native of Abaco, was coming off his victory in his heat, but second place overall in the timed final at the Back to the Track: Clermont Series.

#In his third meet then at the National Training Centre, Gardiner clocked 19.96 as he trailed American Noah Lyles, the fastest finisher in 19.94.

#At the end of the race, Gardiner noted that it was his fastest opener.

#It was Gardiner’s first normal race for the year, coming off his Bahamian national record-breaking feat at the V12 Summer Games where he won in 31.83 to erase Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown’s previous mark of 31.91 that he posted in Osaka, Japan, in 2007.

#Gardiner’s time was posted as the fastest for the year and 23rd on the world’s all-time list.

#The previous weekend, the lanky 6-foot, 5-inch Gardiner came out with a victory in his season opener in his first 300m at the B3R Sports Invitational in 31.95.

#The meets were used to help the athletes get through the coronavirus pandemic, which put a halt to sports around the global in March.

#However, track and field made a gradual return with a few meets staged without any fans in the stands watching because of the social distancing protocol.

#It’s not known if any meets will take place on the European circuit and if they do, if Gardiner will be participating in any.

#Gardiner, coached by Gary Evans, was preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games, which would have been wrapping up this week in Tokyo, Japan.

#Instead, the games were postponed until July 23 to August 8, 2021 because of the coronavirus.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Franco Miller

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#HIGHLY sought after basketball recruit for the class of 2018, Franco Miller Jr will spend a season playing prep basketball in Canada before he makes the leap to the collegiate ranks.

#Miller has joined the programme at Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Canada as the school makes its transition into the National Preparatory Association for the 2017-18 season.

#The 6’2” guard spent much of the summer playing under coach Ro Russell for the Grass Roots Elite Club where his performance on the AAU circuit garnered offers from several Division I programmes.

#Russell was hired to head the programme at Crestwood in 2016 and Miller followed suit.

#The Grand Bahamian native will be tested right away as Crestwood will compete in the Southeast Division against powerhouse programmes such as St Michael’s College, Toronto Basketball Academy and Central Tech Prep.

#Crestwood headmaster Vince Pagano, told North Pole Hoops that the school is committed to competing at the highest level against the top programmes in Canada.

#“Basketball has been on our agenda since our inception. We will now commit the resources necessary to take the sport to another level.”

#“The NPA’s consideration of individual student needs in a highly competitive athletic atmosphere makes it a perfect partner for the school’s own initiatives, he said.

#“Ro Russell has been a giant in southern Ontario basketball for many years. He understands the game and understands the young people who play it so passionately under his tutelage. We are very proud to have him lead our basketball programme. Under his guidance, we expect effort levels and loyalty to our fundamental school values to improve across the board. We have already had ample evidence of that.”

#Miller’s play on the AAU circuit has attracted official offers from Montana State University, the University of Wyoming, St Bonaventure University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. There are also several other programmes that have expressedinterest.

#His most noteworthy performance came at the Fab 48 Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada in July where he averaged over 20 points per game with Russell’s Grass Roots Elite Club. In a 77-71 loss to BTI Select he scored 23 points, added five rebounds, two assists and three steals. He also had 22 points, five assists, four rebounds in a 74-70 win over the Simply Fundamental Basketball Club.

#At the local level with the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons, Miller had a season filled with accolades highlighted when he was named as the Most Valuable Player of the 34th annual Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic. His 27 points led the Falcons to a 58-52 win over the CI Gibson Rattlers He also led the Falcons to a Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association (GBSSSA) senior boys’ title and finished as runners up in the second annual Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Franco Miller

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#It’s decision day for prep basketball star Franco Miller Jr.

#Miller will announce his decision and sign his letter of intent today at the campus of his alma mater, Tabernacle Baptist Academy Falcons.

#Miller’s meteoric rise in recruitment has been reduced to five schools for his decision – the Oklahoma Sooners, Ole Miss Rebels, Oregon Ducks, Minnesota Golden Gophers and Towson Tigers.

#The 6’2, 180-pound guard previously received offers from Hofstra, Montana State, Wyoming, St Bonaventure and Illinois at Chicago.

#Following his tenure at Tabernacle, Miller played at Crestwood Prep in Ontario, Canada. He led the Lions to the National Preparatory Association playoffs. He averaged 21.8 points, four rebounds and 3.6 assists per game this season and was named a First Team All-Star during the league’s tournament finale.

#His latest honour was last month being named to the roster for the 2018 Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, popularly referred to as the Iverson Classic.

#Miller, the 6’2” guard, spent much of last summer playing under coach Ro Russell for the Grass Roots Elite Club where his performance on the AAU circuit garnered offers from several Division I programmes. Russell was hired to head the programme at Crestwood in 2016 and Miller followed suit. Miller’s play on the AAU circuit first began to attract division I programmes.

#At the local level with the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons, Miller had a season filled with accolades highlighted when he was named as the Most Valuable Player of the 34th Annual Hugh Campbell Basketball Classic. His 27 points led the Falcons to a 58-52 win over the CI Gibson Rattlers.

#He also led the Falcons to a Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Sports Association (GBSSSA) senior boys’ title and finished as runners-up in the second annual Bahamas National High School Basketball Championships.

Monday, July 13, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#COACH Jamal Smith liked what he saw in the reunion of guard Deyton Albury and forward Garreth Edgecombe at the Big Shots Myrtle Beach Tournament in South Carolina over the weekend.

#The two 18-year-olds, who are heading to two different prep schools in South Carolina, made their presence felt in the three games they played in so far for the Defenders.

#The Defenders won their opener 70-66 over the Dallas Seawolves on Thursday. Albury was the team’s second highest scorer with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Edgecombe added eight points.

#On Independence Day on Friday, the Defenders lost 70-66 to the Big Shots Elite Tri-Cities 17 as Edgecombe turned out to be the second highest scorer with 10 points. Albury was held to just eight.

#And in their third game on Saturday, the Defenders lost again (69-52) to the Flight 22 Elite UA Rise 17. Once again, Albury finished with eight and Edgecombe added three.

#Despite his numbers, Albury was named the Player of the Game in all three games.

#Smith, who reunited with both Albury and Edgecombe since he last coached them at Temple Christian about two years ago, said they performed very well.

#“Deyton had a couple of games where he matched up well against some division one players and he performed very well,” said Smith of Albury. “He took care of the ball and he showed that he is capable of playing at this level.

#“As for Garreth, he’s making the adjustment to the wing and he performed very well. All in all, I was very leased with the way they both played. They came in and gelled well with the team that we had in place.”

#The Defenders closed out play in the showcase on Sunday, but results were available. Smith said the good thing is that both Albury and Edgecombe got to display their skills to over 200 coaches, who got to live stream the event.

#This week, the Defenders will be participating in the National AAU Tournament that starts today at the same venue in Myrtle Beach. The Defenders first game will be played on Tuesday. The tournament will run through Sunday.

#Albury, a graduate of Sunrise Christian Academy, is looking to enroll in a Prep school before he decides on which college he will participate for next year.

#“We’re still trying to get the chemistry back, but individually the performances were good,” Albury said. “Every time I get a chance to play against the high level competition, I try to make the most out of it.”

#With an average of 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Albury said he was able to hold his own in the showcase. He noted that it was extra special doing it alongside Edgecombe.

#“We haven’t done it in a long time,” said Albury of Edgecombe, who transferred from Temple Christian to finish his high school at Galilee Academy. “Every time we get a chance to get on the court together, we play like we did before.

#“We still had the chemistry and we got to get each other involved in the offense, which was good for our team. We hope that we can continue to gel together for the rest of the summer in the tournaments ahead of us.”

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

#GARRETH Edgecombe hit the final two baskets to enable the Temple Christian Suns to hold off the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine in one of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ marquee senior boys’ basketball games played so far this year.

#With Edgecombe’s heroic efforts, the Suns shined past the Big Red Machine 48-46 on Monday at St Augustine’s College.

#With the win, Temple Christian improved to 6-1, while SAC slipped to 5-2.

#“It was a very competitive game. They definitely came out and gave us their best effort,” said Jamal Smith, head coach of Temple Christian, of the challenge they received from SAC. “They frustrated us on both sides of the ball, but ultimately we were able to go on a run in the late half of the second half and stretch the game.”

#The Suns are shining this year, having only lost just one game to the St John’s Giants and the way they are playing, Smith is confident that they can be a contender in the playoffs.

#“We want to make sure that in our last couple of games, we are locked in and focused on making the playoffs,” Smith added. “So right now, we just want to clean up on our defence and our communication and our play on both ends of the court. Once we can do that, I think we will be in a good position to compete well in the postseason.”

#Jason Edwards, head coach of the Big Red Machine, said it was a game that they let slip away from them. But he vowed that it won’t hamper their mission to get into the playoffs and contend for the title this year.

#“The game was a hard-fought game. We just made a few turnovers down the stretch,” Edwards said. “Experience played a pivotal role down the stretch, in terms of taking care of the ball. We just missed too many free throws.”

#Edgecombe finished with nine points, but Deyton Albury led the Suns’ attack with a game high 23 points. Christian Sturrup contributed 12.

#SAC’s only other defeat came at the hands of St John’s, who got 16 points from Brian Lockhart. Tyler Moncur and Ricky Moxey both had five and Aaron Sands added four.

#Incidentally, while St John’s beat both Temple Christian and St Augustine’s College, they suffered their only loss to the Queen’s College Comets.

ON THE REPLAY: The Temple Christian Suns routed the visiting Kingsway Academy Saints 73-41 at home yesterday in Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools senior boys action. Photo: Terrel W Carey/Tribune Staff

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#IT was a lopsided Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools senior boys’ basketball affair as the Temple Christian Suns delighted their home crowd yesterday with an impressive 73-41 rout over the visiting Kingsway Academy Saints.

#Not long after they utilised their potent full court trap defence, the Saints found themselves in a hole as they couldn’t find any answers to combat their scoring drought in the second half.

#In what started out as a pretty good matchup between two teams tied with identical 2-1 win-loss records, Temple Christian broke away on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17-9 early in the first quarter and they were never threatened as they held on for a 17-11 margin at the end of the first break.

#With their swamping defence intact, the Suns went on to shine 32-27 at the half. But it was what they did in the third quarter that made the huge difference. They came out of the half and went on a 19-2 spurt to extend their lead to 51-29 heading into the final break.

#And even though they rested their starters midway through the fourth, they still managed to surge to a 22-14 advantage to seal the deal as the Suns shone with three players in double figures with Miguel Barnes leading the attack with 14 points and Garreth Edgecombe and Christian Sturrup both connecting on 13 points, while Deyton Albury added eight and Mitchell Fynes chipped in with seven.

#In a losing effort, McCallister Smith canned a game high 18, Ashton Webb had eight and Dacoda Johnson five, but it wasn’t enough. “Last year we played Kingsway and it was a very competitive game, so we knew they were going to come back with that same intensity,” said Temple Christian’s head coach Jammal Smith. “We took care of the ball and executed well on both ends of the court.

#“But it was our defence which made a statement today and that was critical in our victory,” he added.

#Smith said although they are sitting pretty good in the standings, their goal this year is to win the BAISS title and so they are just taking it one day and one game at a time.

#“If we can sharpen our intensity and improve on our mental focus, the sky is the limit for us,” he projected. “But we have to work hard at it every day. Nothing is going to be given to us. We have to go out there and play hard every day.”

#The Suns’ only loss was 48-44 to the St John’s Giants, but their biggest rout came against the Nassau Christian Academy Crusaders, whom they demolished by almost 70 points.

#The Saints, whose previous loss came against the Queen’s College Comets by two, simply didn’t play up to their potential and they were blown out in a game that head coach Andrew Bobb said they deserved to lose, for various reasons. “We are nursing some injuries at the moment, so I knew I had a lot of bench problems,” said Bobb, admitting that he was not trying to make any excuses. “I had to run some of my guys too long. Even when we managed to stay with them in the first half, it was kind of difficult to keep the pace up in the second half.

#“Other than that, I expected a tough fight. I believed my boys could have done way better. We had some careless turnovers, which were costly and the floodgates just opened after that.”

#Now 2-2 on the season, Bobb said he’s not giving up on his team because he feels they have a couple games they should win and enable them to get into the playoffs.

#“Hopefully we can recover from the injuries sooner than later and we can get some better performances off the bench,” he said. “But the objective is to just get into the playoffs and once we do, we will take it from there.”

#One of the highlights of the game came in the third quarter when Randall was hit with a foul and technical foul that sent Edgecombe to the line as he iced the three charity shots to extend their lead to 47-28. Then just before the break, Albury dribbled the ball from half court through the Saints’ defence for a one-handed dunk, much to the delight of their fans.

#The theatrics continued in the fourth when Sturrup scored a fading three-pointer as he fell to the floor with the Suns enjoying a 57-29 margin.

#Before they were done, Nicholas Jones got another break away one-handed dunk that cushioned their 65-32 lead and they kept on cruising from there.

Deandre Ayton. (File photo)

As of Friday, July 24, 2020

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#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#Deandre Ayton celebrated his 22nd birthday with a return to the court and led his Phoenix Suns to a win in their debut at the NBA’s season restart.

#Ayton finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists in just over 20 minutes of the Suns’ 101-88 win over the Utah Jazz last night at the ESPN Wide World’s of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

#The second year centre shot 6-7 from the field and also made the first three pointer of his NBA career.

#Ayton scored six of his points in the first quarter and got out to a quick start, 3-4 from the field en route to an early 28-19 lead for the Suns.

#Prior to the scrimmage, Ayton spoke to reporters on life in the NBA bubble.

#“I’m trying to make a statement. I’m not just here all the way in Orlando, quarantining in a room, for no reason. I’m here to compete to the top level. If I can’t say it vocally, I can definitely be an example and show we mean business,” he said. “I honestly think, the time we’ve had here, our confidence level has actually risen. With Ricky being here and just seeing what we got when we play and we practice, we can tell we got something.”

#The Suns will scrimmage with the Boston Celtics on Sunday, July 26 and the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, July 28.

#The eight seeding games begin July 31 when the Suns will face the Washington Wizards. They will go on to face the Mavericks (August 2), Los Angeles Clippers (August 4), Indiana Pacers (August 6), Miami Heat (August 8), Oklahoma City Thunder (August 10), Philadelphia 76ers (August 11) and the Mavericks for a second time (August 13).

#Ayton met with a myriad of media outlets via Zoom and addressed the issues ahead to a return to the court including his personal goals, team goals and glaring health issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “I trust the league. It is dangerous. It is a thing. I think if we just follow the rules correctly, we will be good,” Ayton said.

#In the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Suns are No.13 in the conference at 26-39, six games behind the No.8 Memphis Grizzlies (32-33). If the No.9 seed finishes more than four games behind the No.8 seed, No. 8 will make the playoffs. If they are fewer than games behind the teams will complete in a play-in tournament.

#Despite pundits showing little favour of the Suns’ chances of getting into the playoffs, Ayton said his organisation remains singularly focused. “It’s a little window to make the playoffs and make some history,” he said. “That’s all that’s on our mind. We’re young and hungry, and we’re ready to play.”

#In his second NBA season, Ayton is averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 54 per cent from the field in just 30 games. According to Basketball Reference, his player efficiency is ranked at No.35 in the league at 20.5.

Sacramento Kings centre Willie Cauley-Stein (00) drives to the basket against Phoenix Suns centre Deandre Ayton in the first half in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

As of Friday, January 11, 2019

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#DALLAS (AP) — Rookie Deandre Ayton scored six points and grabbed five rebounds for the last-place Phoenix Suns in a 104-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. He also had a block, steal and an assist in 20 minutes on the hardwood.

#T.J. Warren scored 20 points for the Suns, who led by eight in the first half.

#However, Luka Doncic connected on a 3-pointer to put Dallas ahead for good in the third quarter, then did a couple of other things that make the Mavericks believe they have something special in their 19-year-old rookie.

#First Doncic disrupted an attempted alley-oop for a steal before an assist on a jump-pass out of a double team from close to half court to DeAndre Jordan near the basket for a dunk to help the Mavericks take control.

#The Slovenian guard scored 30 points to go with six rebounds, five assists and three steals and Dallas ended a seven-game losing streak against Phoenix.

#“Luka does crazy stuff all the time,” said Jordan, who had 11 points and seven rebounds. “So I’m not surprised by anything he does.”

#Maybe even a little too crazy at times, like the high-arching 3-point try from 32 feet — one of a pair of a-bit-too-long attempts from deep that missed. He was an otherwise solid 8-of-14 shooting in his fourth game with at least 30 points.

#The Slovenian guard still went 4 of 9 beyond the arc with a four-point play in the first half while finishing four points shy of his career high.

#Doncic made just 10 of his career-high 16 free-throw attempts as the Mavericks went to the line 45 times, a season high, making 32.

#Scoring leader Devin Booker missed the Kings game and was out again in Dallas with back spasms.

#Phoenix is a combined 1-13 in back-to-back pairs — 1-6 on the front end and 0-7 on the back. It was the Suns’ first loss to Dallas since a 113-108 defeat in Mexico City almost two years ago.

#Two of their 10 wins this season came against Dallas at home, including the season opener.

#Ayton, drafted two spots ahead of Doncic as the No. 1 overall pick, spent the second half in foul trouble and finished with six points and five rebounds along with five fouls.

#“For the first time, I think I ever, went scoreless in the first half and stuff like that just started to get to me a little bit,” said Ayton, who was 1 of 7 from the field.

#“It was just me being the bad egg today. I’m going to apologise to them about this, but yeah, it was a bad game for me.”

#Harrison Barnes scored 17 points for Dallas, making all 10 of his free throws to offset 3-of-11 shooting.

#Wesley Matthews had 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including a banked-in 3 for a 96-84 lead with three minutes to go.