Remember what Luka Doncic said? It's easy to score in the NBA. More than Europe?
He proved again Friday night that he might be right. that he is almost unstoppable.
The Mavericks star scored a franchise-record 73 points in a 148-143 win over the Hawks on Monday, days after Joel Embiid dropped 70 points for the 76ers and Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 62 points for the Timberwolves. exploded.
Doncic's total was the most points scored in an NBA game since the late Kobe Bryant's 81 points on January 22, 2006.
Doncic and his 73 points accounted for nearly half of the Mavericks' points in the five-point win.
He also grabbed 10 rebounds, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to score 70 points and grab at least 10 boards in the same game.
Doncic, who was named a Western Conference All-Star starter on Thursday, put together a 70-point game for just the 15th time in NBA history.
He is the 10th player in history to reach this milestone.
“I was just going to go, you know?” Doncic said after the game.. “Defense gives me something. In the second half, we were getting hit with double time all the time, so I tried to make plays as well.”
At one point in the effort, even Hawks fans at State Farm Arena began to support Doncic, with chants of “MVP” heard as Doncic was ejected, which Doncic acknowledged after the game.
“I heard about MVP.” [chants] When asked if he could hear the crowd, he replied: “it was beautiful.”
“It was an unbelievable performance,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said after the game, according to the Associated Press. “What he does on the court is unlike anyone else.”
Since being selected No. 3 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, Doncic has been named an All-Star five consecutive times and has been named to the All-NBA First Team each of the last four seasons.
Doncic entered this game averaging 33.6 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds per game, shooting 48.2 percent from the field and a career-high 37.3 percent from 3-point land.
Doncic and the Mavericks currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference at 25-20, but are close to finishing within the top five.
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker also had a big night Friday, scoring 62 points in a 133-131 loss to the Pacers.
“He's a great player,” Suns manager Frank Vogel said of Booker, according to the Associated Press. “Personally, I think he should have been voted an All-Star starter.” I think the whole world can see that.If the coaches vote, he will play in the game. [for the reserves]. What a special performance. ”
