Dallas Basketball

LEGENDS LIST: Mavs' Luka Doncic Drops 73 on Hawks; Most Points Scored Since Lakers' Kobe Bryant

Luka Doncic had a night that will go down in NBA history as a tie for the fourth-highest scoring game ever, as he poured in 73 points while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a slump-busting win.

Dalton Trigg

LEGENDS LIST: Mavs' Luka Doncic Drops 73 on Hawks; Most Points Scored Since Lakers' Kobe Bryant
LEGENDS LIST: Mavs' Luka Doncic Drops 73 on Hawks; Most Points Scored Since Lakers' Kobe Bryant /
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After losing three consecutive games, Luka Doncic came to Atlanta with something to prove on Friday night. The newly-minted five-time All-Star torched the Atlanta Hawks to the tune of 73 points while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a much-needed 148-143 win. 

Doncic was more than just a scorer though, as he also tallied 10 rebounds, seven assists and one steal while shooting 25-33 from the field, including 8-13 from deep and 15-16 from the free-throw line. It was the most efficient 70-point game in NBA history with a true-shooting percentage 91.2 (h/t Stat Mamba).

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With his co-star Kyrie Irving missing a second consecutive game due to a thumb sprain, the Mavs needed every bit of the history-making performance to get back into the win column.

Doncic's 73-point night was not only a new career-high and franchise-best – previously set by Doncic last season when scored 60 against the New York Knicks – but it also tied for the fourth-highest scoring game in league history. The only players in NBA history to score more points in a single game than Doncic include Wilt Chamberlain (78 in 1961, 100 in 1962) and Kobe Bryant (81 in 2006).

Luka Doncic Scores Historic 73 Points, Guides Mavs to Electrifying Win vs. Hawks

Doncic scored the most points in a single game since Bryant's 81 in 2006 nearly two decades ago. For context, Doncic's 73 points came on 33 field-goal attempts and 16 free-throw attempts, while Bryant's 81 points came on 46 field-goal attempts and 20 free-throw attempts. Coincidentally, Friday also marked the four-year mark of the Los Angeles Lakers legend's tragic passing in 2020.

The Mavs won't have much time to celebrate Doncic's great achievement, as they'll fly back to Dallas to take on the Sacramento Kings on a second night of a back-to-back on Saturday. We'll see if Irving can return from a two-game absence so Doncic doesn't have to score 70 points in back-to-back nights to get the Mavs another win.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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