After a stellar rookie season in which he won Kia Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 NBA season, the question was for the new sensation of the league in Dallas Mavericks’ swingman Luka Doncic is how will his game improve in his sophomore season? By what he displayed this week, it is only getting better, and better and better.
In the Mavericks (9-5) 117-110 win versus their interstate rivals in the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs (5-10) on Monday night, Doncic registered his sixth career triple-double with a career-high of 42 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on 14 for 27 shooting, including 5 for 13 from three-point range and 9 for 13 from the charity stripe.
Right from the start of the game, Doncic was on scoring a career-best 17 in the opening period in route to his career-high scoring performance, but he was also had his fingerprints on the outcome of the game in the final minutes.
Doncic said to FOX Sports Southwest’s Jeff “Skin” Wade after the win that recently he had a dream that he scored 16 points in the first period and said, “So, I scored 17. So, dreams do come true. But no, an amazing win. Just amazing.”
The 20-year-old Slovenian hit a three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left that put the game out of reach at 115-110. He also outfought three Spurs in Rudy Gay and All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan for a loose ball in the closing seconds that he got to Seth Curry for the final points of the night and gave the boys from “Big-D” just their third win in their last 17 chances against the Spurs the past four seasons.
This was also the first time the Mavericks scored at least 110 points against the Spurs since registering a 112-103 win at their rival’s building on Jan. 8, 2010. A span of nearly 38 games in succession.
To put into context how big that three-point shot that Doncic made over Spurs guard Bryn Forbes that put the home team ahead by five in the closing moments of the fourth period, in the first three quarters the Mavericks were 16 for 34 from three-point range, but went just 1 for 7 from long distance in the fourth period, while committing five turnovers.
The Doncic express did not let up as two nights later he was at it again as he authored another triple-double of 35 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on 10 for 11 shooting, including 6 for 7 from three-point range and 7 for 8 from the charity stripe as the Mavericks blew out the depleted five-time defending Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors (3-13) 142-94 on ESPN.
After joining four-time Kia MVP and three-time Finals MVP in LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers as the only players in NBA history to have a 40-point triple-double before the age of 21 on Monday night, Doncic, who did it at 20 years and 263 days old set a new record against the Warriors for registering a triple-double in the least amount of minutes on the hardwood at 25:30. James had his at 20 years and 100 days young and his 30-point triple-double in under 30 minutes was done in 27:46 in a game last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Houston Rockets perennial All-Star and 2018 Kia MVP James Harden also had a 30-point triple-double in under 30 minutes at 29:34 seconds as well last season. The reigning Kia MVP in three-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (12-3) became the latest to join this exclusive club earlier this season when he registered 30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in his team’s season-opening 117-111 win at the Rockets (11-4) on Oct. 24 on TNT.
“Oh, he was awful. He didn’t impress me at all,” Warriors head coach and eight-time NBA champion as a player and coach Steve Kerr jokingly said after the loss about Doncic. “He was fantastic. Tough to lose by 48 points but, you know, a break here or there and it only would have been 42 points. Nobody caught the sarcasm? I was trying to be funny.”
As he did on Monday night, Doncic put his stamp on the right from the jump with 33 points, six assists and five boards in the opening half, falling one point shy of tying the franchise record for points in a half (34) set by the recently retired future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki in the Mavericks 96-85 win versus the Utah Jazz on Nov. 3, 2009.
In the opening period, Doncic set a new career-high for points in a quarter with 22, with five assists and five rebounds saying after the win, “I see (the stats), but I don’t know what to say. It’s great to ready about. I just enjoy the basketball.”
One person who is enjoying the kind of basketball Doncic is playing right now is his head coach Rick Carlisle, who said after the win versus the Spurs on Monday night “It’s not surprising to me,”
“You know, this guy can do anything he wants to on a basketball court. And, you know, he’s having one of those magical runs right now.”
“It’s a phenomenal thing to be part of. And, you know, his teammates we’re all just, you know along for the ride here.”
Doncic’s teammates are more than just along for the ride. They are a huge reason he registered the 14th and 15th triple-doubles of his young career these last two games.
As incredible as Doncic was in the victory versus the Spurs on Monday night, the Mavericks do not send the Spurs to their sixth straight defeat without the career-high night of 22 points on 8 for 10 shooting buy fourth-year forward Dorian Finney-Smith out of the University of Florida.
While Doncic’s aforementioned three-pointer in the final seconds were that sealed the victory, Finney-Smith’s off-balance 20-foot jumper at the expiration of the 24-second shot clock after picking up a loose ball lost on a shot attempt by Kristaps Porzingis, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds on the evening put the Mavericks ahead 112-107.
“I mean, it’s all special. You know, it’s a rival, you know? We always want to win every game, but I will say Dorian Finney-Smith. That’s it,” Doncic, who became the first Maverick to author a 40-point triple-double said to Wade about his teammate’s performance.
What made the Mavericks win versus the Warriors even more impressive beyond Doncic’s triple-double is they had six guys score in double-figures on Wednesday night as opposed to getting just three including from Doncic’s previously mentioned 35.
Tim Hardaway, Jr., whose father in former Warriors’ All-Star lead guard Tim Hardaway, Sr. was in attendance at the American Airlines Center had 20 points, going 4 for 4 from three-point range. Reserve guard Jalen Brunson had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds off the bench, while Porzingis had his second straight double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds with two block shots. Veteran guard Courtney Lee had 12 points, going a perfect 4 for 4 from three-point range while fellow reserve center in Boban Marjanovic had 10 points and six rebounds.
That offensive balance is how the Mavericks shot 56.7 percent on the evening, outscoring the Warriors 44-16 in the opening period, with Doncic as mentioned contributing half of the scoring with 22, marking the seven straight game he has scored at least 10 points in the first quarter. They made a franchise-tying record 22 threes in 38 tries, shooting 57.9 percent from distance on the night. They had 33 assists on their 51 made field goals, committing just 11 total turnovers, outrebounding the Warriors 50-34, and recording seven block shots.
It is very rare for a player to have the kind of performances that Doncic has put up in the last two games is special, and it has gone on the last 10 games.
To bring into context, Doncic joined James, the Houston Rockets’ 2017 Kia MVP Russell Westbrook, and Hall of Famers great Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double in a 10-game stretch. Westbrook and Robertson are the only ones to do it twice.
Of the seven triple-doubles Doncic has registered this season, five of them he has scored 30 or more. He is the youngest player in NBA history with consecutive 35-point triple-double performances and is the only player in “The Association” averaging at least 29 points, 10 boards and nine assists.
In the latest segment of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump” “Something, Nothing or Everything,” on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe said what Doncic did on Wednesday night “everything.”
He added, “This is ridiculous what this guy’s doing. Luka Doncic looks not a star. Not an All-Star. This version of Luka Doncic looks like a generational superstar, and that frankly is unexpected at this stage of in his career…. This is not just an All-Star. This looks like a generational superstar.”
Hall of Famer and former Rocket Tracy McGrady agreed saying that Doncic is becoming his “favorite” player to watch.
“I actually like tuning in watching this kid because he does everything and it’s crazy that the pace he plays with, he’s able to be so effective. He’s not the quickest. He’s not the fastest. He’s not the most athletic, but he’s just such a cerebral player. And with Steph (Curry) being out. I know Kyrie (Irving) is out right now, Westbrook is still playing. I’m gonna say this-He’s the best point guard in the game right now, with Steph being out. He’s the best point guard.”
Last season, Luke Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks showed in winning Kia Rookie of the Year that they are in very good hands with the retirement of Dirk Nowitzki. What he showed in this past week with back-to-back triple-doubles scoring 42 and 35 points respectably, they have a generational player who not only can lead them to championships if he remains healthy and productive but he can be the future face of the National Basketball Association.
What we have to remember is that he is doing this at just 20 years of age and it is just as important that the team be constructed well around him by owner Mark Cuban and head coach Rick Carlisle moving forward.
“In the big picture this is an awful lot to ask of a guy 20 years old,” Coach Carlisle said on Monday night. “It’s hard to fathom how much that kind of production takes out of you in an NBA game. It’s a lot emotionally. It’s a lot of weight to carry.”
“As we move along, finding balance just to help, you know, Luka with the load is important and I’m looking at that all the time.”
Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 11/18/19 8:30 p.m. “San Antonio Spurs versus Dallas Mavericks,” on FOX Sports Southwest with Mark Followill, Derek Harper, and Jeff “Skin” Wade; 11/18/19 11 p.m. edition of “Mavs Live,” presented by Frontier Communications with Dana Larsen, and Cedric Ceballos; 11/19/19 5 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Wes Wilcox, and Kevin McHale; 11/21/19 3 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Matt Winer and Dennis Scott; 11/21/19 2:30 a.m. FOX Sports 1 news crawl; 11/21/19 3 p.m. “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN, presented by Michelin Wiper Blades with Rachel Nichols, Zach Lowe, and Tracy McGrady; 11/22/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA” on TNT, presented by Kia with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2010_games.html; https://www.nba.com/games/20191120/GSWDAL#/recap/boxscore; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=401160836; https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3032977/giannis-antetokounmpo; https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3945274/luka-doncic; and https://www.espn.com/nba/standings.
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