Luka Doncic served up a big meal at Christmas. With his 50 points against the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks superstar once again towered above everyone.
With a broad grin, Luka Doncic sank blissfully into his chair, as if he had just eaten a fat Christmas goose by himself. 10,000 career points in a hurry, an outstanding 50 points in one game: The basketball superstar of the Dallas Mavericks placed a very special gift under the tree for the celebration.
“When this kind of award goes hand in hand with a win, it’s even more fun,” commented the Slovenian on his historic performance in the 128:114 win in the “Christmas Game” at the Phoenix Suns: “It was a tough away game, and we won. Apart from the 10,000 and 50 points, we won the game. I’m very happy.”
At just 24 years and 300 days old, Doncic became the sixth youngest player to break the 10,000 barrier when he sank a deep three-pointer in the first quarter.
“He’s one of the best in the world. As I’ve always said, we can’t take him for granted,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd about the abilities of his extraordinary star: “If he feels it, we just try to give him that to give the ball as often as possible.”
NBA: Luka Doncic joins an illustrious group
Before the game, Doncic was eleven points short of catapulting himself into an illustrious round. Only LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady reached this milestone at a younger age. In the statistics-obsessed USA, the experts were overwhelmed by Doncic’s impressive numbers.
358 would be one of those. The playmaker needed so few games to reach the magical 10,000, something no other player had achieved since Michael Jordan. For comparison: Mavs icon Dirk Nowitzki only reached the mark in his 479th game in 2005.
Meanwhile, Durant, now active in Phoenix, was impressed by the Doncic show, which seemed to have been anticipated. Understandable, as it was Doncic’s sixth 50-point game in his five NBA years. “I mean, he does it every game. He controls the whole game – passes, rebounds, points. We’ve come to expect that from him, right?” Doncic also had 15 assists and six rebounds for the Suns. In the end, that’s just the way it is, everyone talks about the points.