The Dallas Mavericks put an end to their six-straight-loss streak by defeating the Atlanta Hawks 122-116 at State Farm Arena on Wednesday. Luka Doncic dropped 27 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists, beating Trae Young (21+4+9) at both individual and team levels.

Since both Doncic and Young are already top five playmakers in today's NBA, it makes every sense for defense to trap them from the start of the game. Coach Rick Carlisle went even further by double-teaming Young before he could work on anything offensively. Even if he managed to drive the ball closer to the Mavericks' rim, Young's size (1.85 meters tall, weighing 82 kilograms) limited both his passing and shooting.

By contrast, Doncic, as a bigger playmaker, could usually find open teammate facing plural defenders. Besides, compared with Young's highly "magic ball" playstyle, Doncic is able to do a lot in the middle range. He is also strong enough to post up even against bigger defender.

Moreover, when both Tim Hardaway Jr. (5-10 in triples) and Kristaps Porzingis (10-20 in field goals) shot like they did on Wednesday, it's even more difficult for any team to defeat the Mavericks.

Young still had some highlights in the last quarter of the game. His super-long 3-pointer and sharp penetration led to 10 points in Q4 and frightened the Mavericks a little. If given a chance, no matter how small it is, Young can always make some noise.

John Collins scored court-high 35 points plus 11 rebounds while going 3-4 from downtown for the Hawks. It remains mysterious why he has not been offered a big contract extension offer.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Philadelphia 76ers 118-111 Charlotte Hornets

Joel Embiid left the Spectrum Center after dominating the floor with 34 points and 11 rebounds. When he started the game with Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Danny Green and Seth Curry, the 76ers won all 12 games. No team's starting lineup could do that this season. In three days, the 76ers will host the Brooklyn Nets at home, that will be a major test to the new king of the Eastern Conference.

Indiana Pacers 110-130 Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo accomplished his third triple-double this season after putting down 21 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists at Fiserv Forum. Though he only took eight shots, making seven of them was definitely great efficiency.

On the Pacers' side, Domantas Sabonis scored 33 points and 12 rebounds. Having played 22 games this season, he had double-double in 20 of them and it was his 16th consecutive double-double on Wednesday. Sabonis made the All-Star game last season, but will he do it again?

Los Angeles Clippers 121-99 Cleveland Cavaliers

It was another easy win for the Clippers thanks to the incredible performance by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday. Leonard was 9-14 to get 24 points while George sank eight triples out of nine attempts to score 36 points, The Clippers definitely want George to shoot like this in the playoffs.

Washington Wizards 103-100 Miami Heat

Wednesday night at American Airlines Arena belonged to nobody but Bradley Beal. Not only did he dropped 34 points, nine rebounds and four assists to help the Wizards come back from 13-point trail to edge over the Heat, he also reached 12,000 of his career points, joining Elvin Hayes to become the second player in Wizards history to do so. Furthermore, Beal scored 25+points for 17 games in a row. He's the fourth player in NBA history to do so, following Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Rick Barry.

New York Knicks 107-103 Chicago Bulls

Julius Randle kept the Knicks from suffering their third straight loss by getting 27 points, six rebounds and six assists at United Center on Wednesday. On the Bulls' side, Zach Lavine had 24 points but he missed all seven shots behind the 3-point line. It seems the two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion is getting farther and farther away from being named an All-Star.

Houston Rockets 87-104 Oklahoma City Thunder

The Rockets cooled off after draining 48 triples in the past two games. So did their six-straight-win streak. Without John Wall, the team fell into a mess offensively and committed a total of 20 turnovers at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Before this 23-point loss against the Thunder which did not have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Rockets' general manager Rafael Stone said he wants to help the team win a championship. Perhaps the team's fans should not get too serious about his words.

Minnesota Timberwolves 108-11 San Antonio Spurs

When Jaylen Nowell buried a 3-pointer at 10:21 in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves extended their lead to 16 points (97-81). Then they watched the Spurs wipe that lead point by point as DeMar DeRozan claimed 16 points in this quarter alone. Cruel but truthful, the Timberwolves bottomed the Western Conference for good reasons.

Phoenix Suns 102-123 New Orleans Pelicans

Zion Williamson destroyed the Suns' defense at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday. Having gone 12-14 in field goals, the 20-year-old materialized six assists without committing any turnover. As for the Suns, though they claimed two straight wins before this game, they could not put all of their load on 36-year-old Chris Paul. Devin Booker must do better than going 9-20 to get 25 points. Neither should Deandre Ayton allow eight offensive rebounds by Steven Adams.

Boston Celtics 111-116 Sacramento Kings

This was the second stop of the Celtics' five-consecutive-games road trip in the West and they already felt the danger. Without Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart or Payton Pritchard, the Celtics could not stop De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield or Tyrese Haliburton from putting down 62 points together. Jayson Tatum worked hard and he missed one rebound for the first triple double of his career, but not hard enough to save his team.

The Celtics will meet the Clippers, the Suns and the Utah Jazz in the following three games.