Mavs Step Back: Luka Doncic's Insane Stat Line in Mavs' Christmas Day Win vs. Suns; Dereck Lively Return

Luka Doncic put on a historic Christmas Day show as the Dallas Mavericks downed the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. Our Mavs Step Back Podcast has the full recap for you.

Dalton Trigg | Dec 26, 2023

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It's the season of giving, and Luka Doncic exemplified that on Christmas Day by giving the Phoenix Suns many buckets during the Dallas Mavericks' 128-114 win on Monday.

In the win, which moved the Mavs to 18-12 on the season and fifth in the Western Conference standings, Doncic finished with 50 points, six rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and three blocks while shooting 15-25 overall, 8-16 from deep and 12-12 from the free-throw line. He also became the fastest active player to reach 10,000 career points.

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Doncic tied NBA legend Rick Barry for the third-most points scored during a Christmas Day game in league history. No. 1 on the list is Bernard King with 60 points, and No. 2 is Wilt Chamberlain with 59.

"It's fun for me," Doncic said when asked about receiving boos from the Phoenix crowd. "When you make a shot, the whole gym is quiet. So that's the best feeling in the world."

Luka Doncic Drops 50 Points & 15 Assists, Leads Mavs' Christmas Day Win vs. Suns

On this episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we give a full recap of what transpired in Phoenix. Not only does Doncic get his much-deserved flowers, but 19-year-old rookie big man Dereck Lively II made his return from a four-game absence due to an ankle injury and put up a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. Dallas is 4-1 this season with Lively records a double-double and 1-5 when he doesn't play.

From there, we discuss the continued struggles of Grant Williams, why the Mavs will likely be active at this season's trade deadline, the potential return of Kyrie Irving and much more. 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!

Published Dec 26, 2023

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.