Basketball News: It’s amusing, or maybe even appropriate, that Luka Doncic scored the most points of his NBA career just hours after Kristaps Porzingis was dealt.
On his way to a career-high of 51 points, Luka Doncic exploded for 28 points in the first quarter, the highest by a single player in the league this season.
The ‘Luka Magic’ was on display in the Dallas Mavericks’ 112-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, as the Slovenian displayed his entire arsenal of skills.
Doncic had scored 40 points or more 17 times in his career, including the regular season and playoffs, but he hadn’t yet surpassed the half-century mark.
Luka Doncic was eager to pay respect to his deceased colleague, despite his joy at setting a new career high.
Doncic stated, “Obviously, we’re going to miss KP.” “We were constructing something fantastic here.” Obviously, it didn’t work out. I wish him nothing but the best.
The injury was undoubtedly a part of Porzingis’ inability to stay in Dallas for a longer period of time. He averaged 20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in three years with the Mavs, but he only appeared in 134 games, including 34 of 55 games this season due to a slew of injuries and illnesses, the most recent of which was a bone bruise in his right knee.
“With the injuries, he went through a lot,” Doncic added. “He was much better this year, in my opinion. The NBA is a business, and I wish him luck in his future endeavours.”
In the game on Thursday night in front of his home crowd, Doncic was mesmerising.
A significant wave of spectators at American Airlines Center stayed on their feet after Doncic drained his seventh three of that red-hot first quarter, which he ended 7-of-10 from beyond the arc, and then roared loudly when play paused and a beaming Doncic stepped over the bench.
“Obviously, I felt amazing in the first quarter,” he remarked. “Everything was falling into place. You really don’t want it to end when you’re feeling like that.”
“Tonight was just Luka,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “That little step-back three, I’ll live with that. That’s his shot, but if he misses a couple or few of those, then the game is different. But he made them, and that’s why he’s a great player.”
As Doncic waited for the free throw that would put him at 50 for the first time, fans screamed “MVP! MVP!” With 40 seconds left, he made the second for a 110-103 advantage.
Doncic’s career-high stretch of seven games with at least 10 assists came to an end as a result of all the scoring. Six assists and nine rebounds were tallied by the three-time All-Star.
“It was a lot of joy to see,” remarked coach Jason Kidd. “It wasn’t necessary to do much. All I did was try to stay out of the path. It was fantastic.”
Now that he’s the team’s only “star” player, the Mavericks got Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, another Latvian big man who can shoot the three.
Swapping Porzingis for two different complementary pieces instead could prove to be a wise decision. In addition, after the deadline on Thursday, Dallas granted Dorian Finney-Smith a four-year, $55 million agreement, which thrilled Doncic greatly.
Now, GM Nico Harrison and governor Mark Cuban will be looking to make sure Luka has all he needs to keep the Mavericks competitive.
“I trust them, whatever move they make,” said Doncic, who was ecstatic that starting forward Dorian Finney-Smith agreed to a four-year, $55 million extension after Thursday’s deadline. “We’ve got two new guys who are welcome. Bertans is a great shooter. Dinwiddie can put the ball on the floor and he can score. The NBA is a business.
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