No participant had scored 50 factors, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in an NBA recreation for the reason that Sixties. On Tuesday evening, Luka Doncic reached that complete and stayed true to go for 60 factors.
Doncic’s 60–21–10 line within the Mavericks’ 126–121 extra time win in opposition to the New York Knicks in Dallas was the primary in NBA historical past. The different highest level totals with 20 rebounds and 10 assists got here greater than 50 years earlier: Wilt Chamberlain’s 53–32–14 in 1968, Elgin Baylor’s 52–25–10 in 1961, and Chamberlain’s 51–29–11 in 1963. .
In the twenty first century, solely DeMarcus Cousins ​​(44-23-10) in 2018 and Nikola Jokic (40-27-10) this month had greater than 40 factors, together with 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
Cut the rebound requirement from 20 to 10 and Doncic’s recreation continues to be tied for highest-scoring in 2018 with James Harden’s 60-10-11 recreation.
Luka Doncic grew to become the primary Dallas Mavericks participant to attain 60 factors in a recreation. Here’s a breakdown of every level the three-time All-NBA First-Team guard scored in his pursuit of the feat. pic.twitter.com/aRiSFOQ03V
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 28, 2022
Doncic shot 21-for-31 on Tuesday evening. It was the primary 60-point recreation in Mavericks historical past, surpassing the 53-point recreation by Dirk Nowitzki in 2004. Basketball Reference gave the efficiency a “game score” of 56.3, the perfect within the league since Harden’s play and fifth greatest. 3-point period.
Many of Doncic’s buckets got here in traditional Luka fashion: The 6-foot-7 participant dealt with the ball repeatedly close to the 3-point arc, then went for a layup or help. His teammates made 23 baskets in complete, and Doncic assisted on 10 of them.
The Knicks led the sport by 9 factors with 42 seconds remaining within the fourth quarter, however Doncic helped lead a Mavericks comeback that pressured extra time. With 1 second to go and the Mavericks trailing by 2, he deliberately missed a free throw, a number of gamers on each groups touched the ball and made the shot as time expired.
He punctuated the transfer with a simple goofy dance, which concerned him jerking his arms up and down.
“It was just lucky,” Doncic stated of the game-tying shot. “I’m drained as hell. I want a restoration beer.
Doncic scored 27 of his factors on pick-and-roll performs.
“I like the pick-and-roll,” he stated. “I feel everyone is aware of that. So simply preserve rolling pick-and-roll.
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, left, reacts to a name with Luka Doncic (77) and Dwight Powell (7) of the Dallas Mavericks, wearing avenue garments, through the third quarter of an NBA basketball recreation in Dallas on Tuesday, Dec. 27. Huh. 2022. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Three of the 4 50–20–10 video games in NBA historical past went into extra time, however Doncic didn’t profit a lot from extra time: he performed a complete of 47 minutes, lower than Chamberlain and Baylor did of their video games.
It was the primary 60-point recreation of the NBA season, surpassing Joel Embiid’s 59 for the Philadelphia 76ers in November. Doncic surpassed his earlier career-high of fifty, which he set in opposition to the Houston Rockets on Friday. His 21 rebounds had been additionally a profession excessive.
The Mavericks, who misplaced within the convention finals to Golden State final season, have gained 4 straight and have climbed into sixth place within the West as of Tuesday evening.
At 23 years previous and in simply his fifth NBA season, Doncic’s statistics would enhance. Midway by the season, his field-goal share is over . 500 for the primary time, regardless of his taking pictures being greater than ever, and his 33.6-point common can be a profession excessive.
But it is going to be powerful to placed on a efficiency that tops that on Tuesday.
This article initially appeared in The New York Times.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
