By james art 
The last time the Orlando Magic won at the American Airlines Center, the Mavericks were en route to the NBA Championship.
It was January 8, 2011, and since then, Jason Kidd has gone from point guard to coach.
So the Mavericks have dominated Orlando for the NBA’s equivalent of a generation, and the streak continued Sunday night when they took control early and cruised to a 108-85 victory over the trailing and road-weary Magic, who are on a five-game road trip. without their best player, star Paolo Banchero.
None of that mattered to the Mavericks, who improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in this five-game homestand that continues Monday against Indiana.
Luka Doncic led the Mavericks with 32 points, but hardly needed to change the score after halftime. He also had nine rebounds and seven assists. He and Kyrie Irving (17 points) got a long break in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks led 88-61 after three frames. Daniel Gafford had a season-best 18 points to back up Irving and Doncic. Lively had a matching 11 points and 11 rebounds.
In other words, the Mavericks couldn’t have taken care of business any better on Sunday than they did.
Kidd credited Doncic with getting the team’s mind right.
“I thought his energy was great,” Kidd said. “As our leader, he set the tone right away and I thought the guys followed suit. Our bench was really, really good. We won the first quarter. It’s been a while.
“Luca came out and he’s usually dominated the first in the past and I thought tonight was the first time he really dominated on both ends, offense and defense.”
For the first time this season, Doncic played the entire first quarter, which was the plan “if he scored,” Kidd said with a smile.
And the dominance was complete for the Mavericks.
When Irving and Quentin Grimes opened the second quarter with 3-pointers, the Mavericks turned an early seven-point deficit into a 36-22 lead.
And the route began. Before the Magic knew it, the Mavericks’ lead was 55-28.
It was an important win for the Mavericks to ensure Thursday’s 108-102 loss at Houston doesn’t turn into a losing streak.
Doncic was terrific in the first half, making 9 of 15 shots, including 5 of 10 from three-point range, for 25 points. This is the 30sth first time in his career he had at least 25 points in a half, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2018-19 (James Harden also had 30).
There must be something about the Magic and their coach, former Mavericks assistant Jamal Mosley, that brings out the best in Luke. Last season in the AAC meet, he had 45 points in the Mavericks’ 131-129 victory.
“I just needed a good game for me, just to try to go out there and have fun,” Luca said when asked what it is about Orlando that lights a fire under him. “Playing at home is always fun with the fans. I just wanted to give them something.
So what was the key to making his attack look smoother?
“Just be yourself,” Doncic said. “Play basketball, have fun out there. Today was real fun. We defended, rebounded and played with a lot of pace. That’s fun for me.”
The defense was impressive. Orlando shot just 33.3 percent and was just 8 of 41 (19.5 percent) from three-point range. The Mavericks also had their best rebounding game of the season, winning the bowl 53-43.
And they received some important contributions from outside the normal sources. Naji Marshall hadn’t made much of a splash in the first five games, but he had five assists in the first half on Sunday. Two of those came on lob passes to Daniel Gafford, who took advantage of the diminutive Magic with 12 points in the first half as the Mavericks effectively put the game away. Those lobs came mostly in transition, not half-court sets.
Marshall, Quentin Grimes, Spencer Dinwiddie and Lively were at least plus-15 in the first half.
“We weren’t playing our best basketball at that point,” Luca said. “I think Nagy changed that coming off the bench. He was amazing today. I love his game. I always loved him when he was in New Orleans. He is a very complete player. And he’s just getting used to (us). It’s a new team and it’s going to get better and better.”
That can be said for all of the Mavericks as they have now played several games with Luca and he with them.
“We have to remember that he (Luca) hasn’t had a training camp, so he’s getting into his rhythm,” Kidd said. “And the group that played without him and now with him, they have to get used to him. This is for everyone.”
The Magic were without Banchero, who tore an oblique muscle last week and is out for at least a month. The sophomore forward was averaging 29 points and 8.8 rebounds in the first five games before the injury.
Without him, the Magic have struggled to score and have now lost the first three games of this five-game road trip that extends to Oklahoma City and Indiana.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks recorded a win that also gave them the opportunity to give their heavyweights a little extra rest as Monday’s late game (8:45 p.m.) quickly approaches.
X: @ESefko