Luka Doncic Makes NBA History as Mavs' Struggles Persist: 'I Just Want to Win'
DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic has produced historic results throughout his 2023-24 campaign, averaging 34.6 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.0 rebounds in 54 games.
Doncic's production has only ramped up recently, with 30-point triple-doubles in four consecutive games, joining Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson as the only players to achieve such results over such a span. Doncic doesn't like to discuss statistics regardless, but naturally, he's less intrigued given those performances each occurred during losses.
"It doesn't matter," Doncic said. "I just want to win, man. That's it."
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The Slovenian superstar isn't just barely meeting those figures, he's averaged 36.0 points, 12.0 assists, and 11.3 rebounds over his previous four games. The only players to average 35-11-11 for a four-game span include Westbrook and Robertson, along with LeBron James and James Harden.
The priority for Doncic and the Mavs remains to address their underachieving defense. Dallas has generated the 30th-ranked defensive rating since the NBA All-Star break while being the worst by a substantial margin.
"I don't know, honestly," Doncic said. "We know we got to fix it."
As Doncic continues to make history, the Mavs understand they must provide more support for him, particularly defensively, since he does so much of the heavy lifting offensively.
"Are we asking too much? I don't know if we're asking," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "This is what he does. He's one of the best offensive players on the planet, and so this is what he does and so we have to help him on that end and we have to also help him on the defensive end. This isn't a surprise, he's been doing this pretty much his whole career.
"He's a walking triple-double. He's doing everything to help the team win. We all have to pitch in and help him."
