Luka Doncic's 51 Points Leads Mavs Over Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs came up short in their 126-125 loss against the Dallas Mavericks as Luka Doncic scored 51 points.

The San Antonio Spurs rallied back from a double-figure deficit in their 126-125 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. The excellence of Luka Doncic was too much to overcome as he totaled 51 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and four steals. The Spurs drop to 12-24 on the season as the Mavs improve to 21-16.

“It’s incredible,” Mavs center Christian Wood said of Doncic's recent play. “In my seven years in the league, I’ve never seen anybody do what he’s able to do. He’s on an incredible run. He’s playing like an MVP. Clearly one of the best players in the league.”

The 50-point mark was something that became a running punchline entering this matchup. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about Doncic's historical performance before the team's 122-115 win over the Knicks on Thursday, given that San Antonio will host the Mavs on Saturday.

"There's always something in our lives that makes you say, 'I can't believe that happened.' That was one of them for sure. That was incredible. 

"I was thinking about — what, Doncic had 60-20-10, so 90? Has anyone ever scored 90 on a stat like that? Wow. Incredible. ... Maybe Wilt?"

At the end of Popovich's availability, he jokingly exclaimed that the Spurs' goal against the Mavs: "50 is going to be our goal. We're holding Luka under 50. Quote."

Doncic ended up scoring 51 against the Spurs on Friday, surpassing the "goal" that Popovich laid out for his team. With San Antonio tending to stick to a base pick-and-roll coverage, they were picked apart for 28 points alone from ball screen plays. They lack the versatility to handle him on switches. 

Even despite Doncic's dynamic play, the Spurs managed to make it a single possession game late. In a rebuilding season, it was another example of resilience from a young group focusing on improvement. 

“Yeah, we had a good team effort and individual effort on him, but he’s an amazing player,” Popovich said of Doncic's performance after the game. “His IQ is off the charts. So, we would rather win than lose like everybody else in the world, but (I’m) really proud of their effort and the way they just kept going even after we got down whatever it was, 13, 14, I can’t remember.”

The Spurs return to action on Monday when they take on Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets.

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