The Dallas Mavericks welcomed their "magic," Luka Doncic, back in Thursday's game and watched the 20-year-old lead the team against the San Antonio Spurs at home.

San Antonio Spurs 98-102 Dallas Mavericks

Having hurt his right ankle in the game against the Miami Heat on December 14, Doncic sat out four games. You could tell that he was still a little rusty on the court: His 100 percent explosiveness was missing, and his ability to leap and shoot was noticeably different. 

He was 9-23 in general, 1-6 from the three-point line and even missed three free throws. However, he  could still hurt San Antonio's defense with his face-up moves. 

The forward's size allowed him to go for mismatch in front of the opponent's guards, like Dejounte Murray or Derrick White. When Doncic faces bigger defenders, like Rudy Gay or LaMarcus Aldridge, he could also create scoring opportunities with his skillful dribbles and agility.

That explains why he managed to put down 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Mavericks have the league's top offense even without Doncic – the 20-year-old is more like the team's final resort. Coach Rick Carlisle has enough players who can both dribble and shoot three-pointers in his roster. When all five members of the team spread from the three-point line, the team's offense is definitely intimidating.

The Spurs had a good understanding of that as they watched the Mavericks bury seven three-pointers to get 21 points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and expand the lead to double digits.

By contrast, offense has been San Antonio's sore point this season. First, the team lack a real orchestrator. Murray failed to improve his terrible shooting skills, which further weakened his role in offense. No wonder he was often on the bench in the key period of the game. White could pass, but he lacks creativity, not to mention that his offensive threat is no more than a shooter.

DeMar DeRozan could shoulder a part of the orchestrating responsibility, but the Spurs rely more on his ability to score, especially when a game is on the line. Therefore, the Spurs' game often ended with continuous isolation possessions by DeRozan and Aldridge. Though the team have a few shooters on the bench, their disappointing defense means that if they cannot constantly contribute from the three-point line, the Spurs will be vulnerable on the other side of the court.

New York Knicks 94-82 Brooklyn Nets

The Nets felt bad enough losing to the Knicks at home, but fans at the Barclays Center might feel even worse because they just watched one of the worst offensive NBA games in 40 years.

How terrible was the Nets' shooting performance? They were 27-78 in general; thus, the field goal rate was 26.9 percent, the lowest since they moved to Brooklyn. Even if you count in the history of the New Jersey Nets, it was still the lowest in 19 years. The Nets shot worse than they did on Thursday in only two games: 26.8 percent (22-82) in the game against the Indiana Pacers and 25.5 percent (25-98) in the game against the Utah Jazz in 1989.

The disappointment did not end there. The Nets were 13-50 from the three-point line, which means they were 8-28 in the middle range. The team made only eight two-pointers, the fewest since the league introduced the three-point line in the 1979-80 season.

Perhaps the result of this game will make the team miss Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of whom are great shooters in the middle range. They watched the whole game on the bench.

Though the Knicks only buried nine three-pointers and were 40.2 percent in general, they still won the game because the Nets outmatched them in being bad.

"For us, the target was to keep them under 100. We also shot 27 percent. Maybe too much eggnog?" said Spencer Dinwiddie after the game.

"They just outplayed us. Plain and simple. You could sit there and write and talk about missed shots – we did miss lots of open shots – but give them the credit. They simply were the better team tonight," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson.

Other games on Thursday (home teams in bold):

Washington Wizards 102-132 Detroit Pistons

Memphis Grizzlies 110-97 Oklahoma City Thunder

Minnesota Timberwolves 105-104 Sacramento Kings

Portland Trail Blazers 115-121 Utah Jazz