Mavs book NBA playoff berth

Los Angeles: Luka Doncic’s 11th triple-double of the season propelled the Dallas Mavericks to a

114-110 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday and into the

NBA playoffs. Doncic scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 11 assists and the Mavs held off a late challenge from

the short-handed Raptors, whose seven absentees included stars Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. Kristaps Porzingis scored 21 points and Dorian Finney-Smith drained two late three-pointers

for the Mavs, who saw a 10point lead midway through the fourth quarter dwindle to two points with 4.9 seconds remaining. A pair of free-throws from Josh

Richardson pushed the Mavericks’ lead back to four with 3.9 seconds left and Dallas notched a sixth win in their last

seven games to assure themselves of a playoff spot.