Doc Rivers Compares Luka Doncic to Lakers Star LeBron James

Going into their Friday night matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Philadelphia 76ers knew they were going to have their hands full with the other team's star.

Luka Doncic, the 22-year-old established superstar, has dominated opponents for the last few seasons. 

But even though the Sixers knew exactly what Doncic was capable of doing night in and night out, they still struggled to stop him when he got going.

The Sixers had a decent effort against Doncic defensively in the first half of their Friday night game. While the Mavericks star still got his points, the 76ers prevented him from going supernova early as he scored 15 points in 19 minutes.

However, Sixers coach Doc Rivers realized late in the second quarter that Doncic was gearing up to turn his game up a notch.

"I thought he took over the end of the second," said Rivers after the game. "I thought that's where during games you fall on something that works. They fell on a set, and they stayed with it. They executed the hell out of it."

Coming out for the second half, Doncic played all 12 minutes of the third quarter. He accounted for 11 of Dallas' 32 points as he drained five of his nine shots from the field.

Going into the final quarter of the night, Doncic had 26 points in 31 minutes. While he wasn't as efficient in the fourth quarter, Doncic still helped lead his team through their rally over the Sixers and showed Doc Rivers glimpses of another NBA superstar.

"He's so big. I do like blitzing him at times, but I don't like blitzing him. He's very similar to LeBron (James)," Rivers continued. He's such a great passer, and he just holds the ball at the last minute. He was toying with some of the blitzes. So he's not a guy that I actually loved blitzing, but I do think it's good at times."

Like LeBron James has done many times throughout his career, Doncic took over for the Mavs on Friday night and did everything he needed to pull away from the 76ers and secure the home win. 

In 40 minutes of action, Doncic finished the game with 33 points. He drained 46-percent of his shots from the field and collected 13 rebounds and 15 assists, securing the tiple-double. Doncic's contributions allowed the Mavericks to put the Sixers away with a 107-98 victory. With that loss, the Sixers take on their 21st of the year before hitting the road to Chicago.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.