HOUSTON -- Luka Doncic scored a season-high 50 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Houston Rockets 112-106 on Friday night.

Doncic, who also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, was 17 of 30 from the field, including 6 of 12 on 3-pointers. It was Doncic's second career 50-point game.

"Sometimes you know you're going to make more shots than usual," Doncic said. "When you feel hot, you feel like everything will go in."

He scored a career-high 51 against the Clippers on Feb. 10, 2022.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd called Doncic's 50 points "a great Christmas gift on a long road trip."

"Luka is Luka," Kidd said. "He's the best player in the world. He showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively. ... I don't know what else to say about him. He was incredible tonight."

Houston coach Stephen Silas said Houston's defensive game plan was good, but there was "just too much Luka."

"I'm not sure that he made an easy shot," Silas said. "We made every shot hard, and that's the greatness of a great player. ... That's what Luka does."

Tied at 94 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining, the Mavs used an 11-3 run to open up an eight-point lead on a 3-pointer by Doncic, who blew a kiss to the crowd. The Rockets responded with seven straight points to cut the lead to 105-104 on Alperen Sengun's layup with 3:13 left.

After Davis Bertans hit a 3 to up the lead to four, Jabari Smith Jr. cut the lead to two with a jumper with a 1 ½ minutes remaining. The two teams traded turnovers and missed shots before Doncic nailed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to give the Mavs a five-point lead.

"We swing the ball, and Tim (Hardaway Jr.) redrives it from the corner and finds Luka wide open," Kidd said of Doncic's 3 to seal the win. "Luka does the rest. When you're hot like that, sometimes you don't have to move the ball. Someone else did all the work for him, and the ball found him."