Luka Doncic posts triple-double as Mavericks rip Warriors. But this one made history.
Don’t ever forget, however frequent we see it, that what we are seeing on the basketball court from Luka Doncic is not routine.
The second-year superstar did it again Wednesday night as the Dallas Mavericks ran circles around the once mighty Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center.
The 142-94 win was seemingly over at halftime, perhaps even after the first quarter in which Doncic scored a career-high 22 points and led the Mavs to a 44-16 lead. He had 33 points by halftime and recorded his seventh triple-double of the season before the third quarter was over. His playing time of 25 minutes, 30 seconds are the fewest in NBA history for a player with a 35-point triple-double. No one had ever done it in less than 30 minutes.
He has 15 triple-doubles since January and became the youngest player to record consecutive 35-point triple-doubles. Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson was the previous youngest at 22 years old.
“Right from the beginning of the game, he was doing his thing, knocking down threes, drawing fouls,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “and he took it to us.”
He did not play in the fourth quarter but still finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He was 11 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 10 from the 3-point arc.
Doncic scored 42 points in a triple-double in Monday’s win against the San Antonio Spurs.
His 33 first-half points was one shy of Dirk Nowitzki’s team record for points in a half. His 22 first-quarter points gives him 10 or more in the first quarter in the past seven games, a Mavs’ record.
“He is on an amazing run right now,” Mavs’ coach Rick Carlisle said. “He is doing it without disrupting team flow, which is very unique. He is a very special player in a special role. This isn’t a big news flash now, this is getting to be pretty normal. But then again, you can’t take anything for granted in this league. Luka is doing some really amazing things and doing it on a consistent basis.”
The Warriors, who were playing with just an eight-man roster because of injuries, are without their biggest stars, including Steph Curry and Klay Thompson who will miss the season. Draymond Green was out Wednesday with right heel soreness.
Kerr said Doncic has unique skills but compared him to James Harden for his step-back 3-point abilities and to Hall of Famer Larry Bird for his court vision.
“The game has changed so much. People didn’t use to shoot step-back 3s,” Kerr said. “I think he’s a little bit like Harden. He’s a got a little bit of Larry Bird with the ability to see the game a step ahead … but Bird wasn’t hitting step-back 3s off the dribble, so he’s a unique player to himself.”
The Mavs beat the Warriors by 48, the biggest win over Golden State since the 1984-85 season. Eric Paschall, who finished with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds, praised Doncic, who doesn’t turn 21 until February.
“It’s hard to stop a guy like that. Once he gets going like that from three and uses his ability to pass the ball, it’s hard to stop him,” he said. “I feel like we just got to keep trying to make him uncomfortable in any type of way. But the reality about that is he’s so dominant at such a young age, he’s only 20 years old. Younger than me. He’s a heck of a player. It shows every night. How many triple-doubles does he have? He’s doing a heck of a job. He’s a great player.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 9:11 PM.
