Dallas Basketball

'Beautiful Basketball Player': Gregg Popovich Offers Mavs' Luka Doncic High Praise

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered some high praise of Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic after his 51-point game.

Grant Afseth

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Luka Doncic has been producing at a historical level for the Dallas Mavericks this season, and his production has only improved as the season has progressed. He finished the month of December averaging 35.1 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in 15 games. He capped it off with 51 points against the San Antonio Spurs. 

The Spurs had a "goal" entering their matchup against the Mavs in defending Doncic. After he had two recent games with over 50 points, the idea was to contain him below the bold mark of 50 in Saturday's matchup. 

"There's always something in our lives that makes you say, 'I can't believe that happened.' That was one of them for sure,'" Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said when asked about Luka Doncic's recent 60-20-10 game against the New York Knicks. 

“50 [points] is going to be our goal,” Popovich told reporters jokingly. “We’re holding Luka under 50. Quote.”

In true Doncic fashion, he finished with 51 in the Mavs' 126-125 win over the Spurs. He did so while shooting 18-29 (62.1 percent) from the floor, 6-10 (60.0 percent) from 3-point range, and 6-10 (60.0 percent) on free throws. He became the first player to record at least 50 points and nine assists without having a single turnover.

After the final buzzer, Popovich jokingly tried to avoid Doncic after his goal of holding the Mavericks superstar failed. The respect the two share for one another was clearly on display. 

It seemed apparent that Doncic was aware of Popovich's comments based on how they interacted at midcourt after the final buzzer. When asked, did Doncic know that Popovich made a comment suggesting the "goal" was to hold him under 50 points? 

“Yeah, I saw it," Doncic said. "I just wanted to get a win.”

Popovich offered some of the highest praise you'd hear from him when discussing a player before the game, describing the three-time All-NBA Guard as "unbelievable" and describing him as a "beautiful basketball player."

“It’s unbelievable, this guy,” Popovich said. “He’s just a beautiful basketball player. He’s like the prototype for high basketball IQ and high skill level, all rolled into one guy. He’s very special, very special.”

Doncic has excelled in games against the Spurs in his NBA career. He has averaged 29.5 points, 9.1 assists and 8.3 rebounds in 15 games against San Antonio after his latest performance. His scoring average against the Spurs ranks just ninth compared to his averages against all 29 other teams. 

The Mavs will return to action on Monday when they take on the Houston Rockets, with a chance to extend their current winning streak to seven straight victories. Doing so would tie their lengthiest string of consecutive wins since the 2010-11 season, when they won their first and only NBA title. 

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Grant Afseth
GRANT AFSETH

Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for MavericksGameday.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth). You can reach Grant at grantafseth35@gmail.com.

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