Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic, the rookie of the Mavs, featured a night where the American Airlines Center had the impression of being "old-fashioned"

"I think Luka is the real deal," said Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, about two hours before the home opener against Minnesota, adding that he was "excited, excited, excited " Game.

Cuban then leaned to the ground and tapped lightly on the hardwood of the American Airlines Center.

If Cuban did grab his rookie title, it was only during an atrocious first quarter in which Doncic, 19, was clearly nervous.

At the end of the night, however, after the Mavericks had won a 140-136 victory, with Doncic scoring 26 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Cuban found himself surrounded by reporters.

"He still has a long way to go," said Cuban. "But it's a good start."

After a scoreless first quarter, Doncic scored 15 points in the second quarter on four out of four shots. He added six more points in the third. At that point, the fans were ga-ga about Luka, standing up and applauding particularly hard during his travels from one end to the other of the country.

"I loved the fans in the arena," said Doncic. "The fans were really amazing, I loved it."

When asked when he felt nervous at first, Doncic replied, "Maybe. Not nervous, it's just different. I was impressed by the fans, really. They put so much effort into the game that I was impressed. "

So, what changed his game in the second quarter?

"I was just angry at my game. I did not play as well as I could, so I got angry. "

Doncic scored 10 points in the early season defeat on Wednesday in Phoenix, against 8, while he got 8 rebounds but shot 5 times out of 16.

Mavericks fans warmly welcomed the hustle and bustle of Doncic on Saturday. As he said, he may have tried to please them.

He was called for traveling for 18 seconds. He missed a shot in the race at 1:06 of the match, then started a 3-pointer about a minute later.

Then, while he was 2:28 in the game, Doncic tried to dribble behind his back after crossing the center of the field, but the basketball shot a look at his heel. Jeff Teague of Minnesota converted the turnover into a 3-pointer.

Minnesota took a 24-9 lead, but when Carlisle started making substitutions, he pulled out all the starters, with the exception of Doncic. Carlisle said the only reason he left Doncic was because Wesley Matthews had two fouls.

"Do not do everything about Luka," Carlisle said next. "It's a team and Luka will be the first to tell you.

"We have to play this team well. We want everyone to play well, but we are not trying to get the guys here. We have to put our team together.

Soic had the big second quarter and from there, his body language was of complete confidence. Sometimes he was clearly feeding on the energy of the crowd and vice versa.

"These fans have helped me a lot," he said.

With only 2:30 remaining, the formidable Doncic jumper from the right baseline gave Dallas a lead of 129-124. At 2:01 of the end, he created an even harder horseback left, giving the Mavericks a 131-126 lead.

But there were also rookie mistakes expected. A big incident occurred while there was a little more than a minute when Doncic got stuck in the lane, turned and returned the ball to Wesley Matthews. The Timberwolves picked up the lost and converted ball, shooting inside 133-132. The fans have never sank Doncic, despite his six turnovers.

"All night, the energy of the crowd has been great," Cuban said. "It was like the good old days."

Since this was his first home game as an NBA player, he might have to be told that they do not all play the same way, with the losing team scoring 136 points and the winning team scoring 50 points.

"I would say we like to play fast, so we can have more assets, yes, we have taken a lot of 3 point points today, but we have a lot of good 3 point shooters, so I think that Is good. "

It was a good start to the house for Doncic. Sometimes it was fragile and at other times it was spectacular, but overall, it turned out well.