How Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic showed he’s ‘the future’ in historic NBA playoff debut
So much for first-time jitters.
Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic played in his first ever NBA playoff game Monday night and made history in the process.
The second-year 21-year-old scored 42 points in the Mavs’ 118-110 Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. That’s the most points scored by a player in his playoff debut. He broke George Mikan’s record of 37 points set in 1949.
Doncic joined a select group in reaching the 40-point mark, too. Only Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady have scored at least 40 points at 21 or younger in the postseason. Game 2 is at 8 p.m. Wednesday from the bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“He’s the future,” Clippers’ star Paul George said. “We didn’t come in here thinking we were going to stop Luka, but what we did expect was to make it tough for him.”
The night started rough for Doncic, who had to leave the court in the first quarter to get his left foot retaped after slipping and falling. He also had five turnovers in the quarter, the most in a quarter for him in his career. He finished with 11 turnovers in the game, while grabbing seven rebounds, dishing nine assists and shooting 13 of 21 from the field.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 12:30 AM.
