'Headband Luka Doncic' Leads Dallas Mavs' 50-Point Win vs. Utah Jazz; 3 Unsung Heroes

The Dallas Mavericks snapped a two-game skid in blowout fashion by beating the Utah Jazz, 147-97 on Wednesday night. Luka Doncic made history yet again with a 40-point triple-double, but there were three unsung heroes that we shined the spotlight on during our latest Mavs Step Back Podcast.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is officially on a tear following the birth of his daughter last week. After missing one game on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies, Doncic returned on Saturday to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, putting up 36 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists in a near-miracle comeback attempt.

After three days of rest, Doncic followed up that masterful performance by putting up yet another triple-double in the Mavs' 147-97 walloping of the injury-plagued Utah Jazz on Wednesday. He finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in 32 minutes while shooting 14-25 overall and 6-12 from deep.

With his second consecutive triple-double, Doncic passed Larry Bird for ninth on the all-time list after tying him just four days ago. He's now just 14 triple-doubles away from catching James Harden for eighth on the list.

USATSI_22050577
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

"I think Luka's had a lot of fun this season on both sides of the ball," Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said after the game. "He's competing at a high level. He's having fun. You can see the energy was extremely high. When you look at the game before [versus] Oklahoma City, he played 46 minutes, and he was still ready to go. It just shows his conditioning and where his mind is right now -- it's to win. He's doing everything to put the team in that position to win on a nightly basis."

On the latest episode of our Mavs Step Back Podcast, my DallasBasketball.com colleague Grant Afseth joins me live from American Airlines Center immediately following the Mavs' win over the Jazz to discuss the performance we witnessed from Doncic.

From there, we also talk about Kyrie Irving putting up a quiet 26 points in 27 minutes while shooting 11-16 from the field. He also dished out four assists and recorded three steals as well. Irving was one unsung hero of the game, and the other two, at least in our opinions, were Dante Exum, who got the start with Grant Williams out, and rookie forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

Mavs' Luka Doncic Makes Incredible NBA History in 50-Point Blowout Win vs. Jazz

Exum, despite shooting just 2-9 from the field, finished with five points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals while being a team-best +40 on the night. Prosper, although still raw offensively, was rock solid on defense and finished with six points, five rebounds and two assists while being a +17 in just 21 minutes off the bench.

"His basketball IQ is extremely high. He knows how to play," Kidd said of Exum. "He's not judged on scoring. He's judged on doing the right things on both sides of the floor and that's what he does for us. When he came in the league as a lottery pick, unfortunately, health and injuries sometimes are setbacks. But for him, his basketball IQ has never been taken from him. He plays the game the right way and we're lucky to have him."

You can watch or listen to this episode below. Also, be sure to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts! You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts for a chance to win future giveaways.


Published
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.