Mavs' Luka Doncic Makes NBA History with Performance Since All-Star Break: 'He Plays to Win'
Seemingly every time Luka Doncic steps on the court for the Dallas Mavericks, he's making history.
After scoring 27 points with 14 assists and 12 rebounds in the Mavs' 127-92 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday at the United Center, Doncic became the first player to score 364 points with 114 assists and 102 rebounds in a 10-game stretch since 1975-76, according to basketball reference. Doncic's performance against Chicago (31-34) was his seventh straight triple-double and led Dallas (37-28) to its third straight win on the road.
Luka Doncic shooting a 3 over Andre Drummond.
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Doncic made more history by passing Jason Terry for the second-most 3-pointers made in Mavericks history. Doncic has made 1,143 3s, and now he only trails Dirk Nowitzki, who made 1,982 in his career.
With Doncic's play this season and of late, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd praised the Slovenian star's ability to play the game in a way that separates him from
"He plays to win and so we keep stats and all that good stuff, but he's just one that will fill up the stat sheet," Kidd said. "His ability to score, pass, and help rebound — he just plays the game. I think he finds himself in a different air."
The only negative to Doncic's performance was his record-setting nine straight 30-point triple-double got snapped against the Bulls. With the game well under control with Dallas entering the fourth quarter up by 34 points, Doncic and the rest of the starters were pulled with 6:09 left in the game.
While Kidd said he pondered keeping Doncic in the game to extend his NBA-best streak of 30-point triple-doubles, respecting the game and protecting his best player ultimately led to his decision to pull him.
"Luka's setting records and it becomes tough when you're trying to win the game," Kidd said. "You're also trying to be respectful of the situation, so to try to get him 30, because this is something that's never been done before, also not putting him in a position to get hurt."
With Doncic's recent run, he's improved his stats to averaging 34.6 points, 9.9 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game. Dallas has also moved within a game of the Phoenix Suns for the sixth seed. If Doncic continues to make history and the Mavs continue to ascend in the West, he'll continue to improve his chances of winning the first MVP of his career.
