Luka Doncic just made his exit known in
Friday, Luka Doncic equaled the fourth-highest scoring total in NBA history with 73 points, helping the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Atlanta Hawks 148-143.
With 41 points in the first half of a brilliant individual effort, the Slovenian star broke a Mavs record. Dallas continued their scorching run in the second half, holding off the resolute Hawks.
Doncic contributed seven assists and ten rebounds. He converted 15 of his 16 free throws and connected on 25 of his 33 field goals, including eight three-pointers.
Doncic called the performance “probably at the top” of his career, but he was only concerned with winning because the Mavs were coming off a three-game losing run.
“We’ve been having trouble recently,” he remarked. “The mindset was to win.
Doncic continued, “I was just going with whatever the defense gave me. “I attempted to create some plays in the second half because they doubled me all the time.”
After missing two games due to concussion protocol, Trae Young led the Hawks with 30 points, but his incredible performance derailed his comeback.
Doncic entered the top NBA territory with his franchise-record effort. The only players who have scored more points in a single game are Wilt Chamberlain (who set a league record of 100 in 1962) and Kobe Bryant (who scored 81 in 2006).
Along with two 73-point performances, Chamberlain also boasts a 78-point total. Doncic and David Thompson have both previously attained this mark.
It was something “extra extraordinary” from a player who often produces special moments, according to Mavericks coach Jason Kidd.
In addition to stating that Doncic’s ability to consistently feed his teammates in the midst of his own explosive scoring, Kidd stated, “What he does on the court is different than everyone else.” This helped the team win.
Kidd remarked, “He did it at a high level tonight—his ability to make baskets, create chances, find open guys.” Kidd also stated he never worried that Doncic’s hot hand would force the Mavericks to alter their strategy.
“He is the strategy,” Kidd remarked.
With less than two minutes remaining, the Hawks had closed the gap to three points, but with 58 seconds remaining, Doncic drove for a layup, drew a foul, and made the free throw to help extend the advantage back to seven points.
With ten seconds remaining, a basket by Young brought the score to three, but Tim Hardaway Jr.’s two free throws sealed the victory for the Mavs, who were playing without injured Kyrie Irving.
Doncic broke his own team record of 60 points, which he had established against the New York Knicks on December 27, 2022, with a career-high 25 baskets.
Less than a week had passed since Joel Embiid scored 70 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ victory over San Antonio, and Doncic’s performance wasn’t the only spectacular display of the evening.
Devin Booker of Phoenix, however, scored sixty-two points in a losing effort as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Suns 133-131 to end their seven-game winning streak.
They held a 17-point lead at one point, but with less than a minute remaining, the Pacers knotted the game. Obi Toppin’s putback basket following a Pascal Siakam miss sealed the win, as Booker was unable to make his three-point attempt as the shot clock ran out.
Following his 52-point performance against New Orleans earlier this month, it was Booker’s second game of 50 or more points this season. In 2017 he scored a career-high 70 against Boston.
Six Pacers players scored in double digits, including Siakam’s 31 points, as Indiana won for the second straight game.
In other news, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Orlando Magic 107-106 despite seeing a double-digit lead evaporate. Jaren Jackson led the team with 30 points and eight rebounds.
In Milwaukee, Donovan Mitchell’s 32 points helped the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-100.
Giannis Antetokounmpo came just short of a third consecutive triple-double with his 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists.
With Adrian Griffin abruptly fired, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard added 22 more points, solidifying the appointment of Doc Rivers as head coach. Rivers led Boston to the 2008 NBA championship.
For two games, starting on Wednesday with a victory over Cleveland that snapped the Cavaliers’ eight-game winning streak, assistant Joe Prunty filled in as interim coach.
