'The Man Is Special': Luka Doncic's Historic Triple-Double, Defense Ends Mavs' Skid
After losing four consecutive games and seven out of their last 10, the Dallas Mavericks desperately needed a big performance at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night to bounce back into the win column.
In what felt like a high-intensity playoff atmosphere in late November, Luka Doncic had one of his best performances of the young season – and perhaps the best two-way performance of his career – as the Mavs defeated a red-hot Golden State Warriors team, 116-113. In 39 minutes, Doncic finished with 41 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals while shooting 14-27 from the field, 4-9 from deep and 9-15 from the free-throw line.
To add more context to what we witnessed on Tuesday, Doncic became just the second player in NBA history to put up a stat-line with minimums of at least 41 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals. He joined Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird – a player he's been compared to often by many – who put up 49 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals in a double-overtime win over Portland Trail Blazers on March 15, 1992.
"It's getting boring," coach Jason Kidd joked after the Mavs' slump-busting win. "[Luka's] one of the best in the world, and that's what he does. The man is special, loves the competition."
Doncic also move into a tie for fourth place in league history by having 13 games posting 35-point triple-doubles. He tied LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain, and the only other players ahead of him on that exclusive list are James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
Another stat that will likely be bittersweet for Mavs fans to take in: Doncic, who is 23 years old, now has the same amount of 40-point games in five seasons as franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki had in 21 seasons. Doncic still has a long way to go to catch Nowitzki's overall greatness, but he's certainly on pace to do just that.
Although the triple-doubles are fun to highlight, Doncic said his favorite stat of all form Tuesday was his four steals ... and of course, being able to secure a big win to stop the four-game losing streak.
“It was great," Doncic said of his defensive effort. "I was participating and giving it everything I had. I was really tired at the end. We needed this game. We needed this win. I think we deserved this win and we for sure needed this win.”
Nearly one-fourth of the way through the season, Doncic not only leads the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game, but he's also fourth in steals with 1.8 per game. If that kind of production keeps up, and Doncic is also able to get a little help from his supporting case as well like he did against the Warriors, the Mavs will be just fine despite going through an early rough patch.
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