Luka Doncic Scores Historic 73 Points, Guides Mavs to Electrifying Win vs. Hawks
ATLANTA — The Dallas Mavericks (25-20) entered Friday night's matchup against the Atlanta Hawks (18-27) on a three-game losing streak, needing a bounce-back victory on the first of two matchups in consecutive days. With Kyrie Irving sidelined, Luka Doncic guided the Mavs to a 148-143 win, scoring a career-high 73 points, adding 10 rebounds, and seven assists.
"I think we talked about it the other night, the Picasso. This is one of the best paintings. This will sell at a high price. Just the way that he painted the game tonight," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Doncic. "The pass that people won't talk about is the one under the basket that he threw over his head back to the top of the floor. ... We needed every point, every minute, and he delivered."
Doncic dominated the game as a scorer early on, with the Hawks trying to maintain the base matchup on him instead of blitzing or switching. He scored 18 points in the first quarter, frequently attacking the paint while hitting step-backs from deep. It became the start of something truly special after being given neutral pick-and-roll coverages to tear apart.
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As the Mavs closed the first quarter with Grant Williams at the five with Doncic on the bench, Young guided the Hawks to close the opening period on an 8-0 run. Dallas lacked Kyrie Irving's impact to do the same in that stretch. Atlanta went from trailing when Doncic checked out to being up 31-27 at the end of the first quarter.
Richaun Holmes, who has rarely played lately, was on the floor in the second quarter to provide a spark with Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber sidelined due to injuries. Aside from a few occasional blitzes in the second quarter, Doncic was often able to attack against neutral defenses, and he continued to pick apart the Hawks' defense.
As the quarter progressed, Atlanta became more focused on switching against Doncic, but it didn't stop him from making plays. Dallas even got creative putting Trae Young's man into screening actions, whether double drag or Stack pick-and-roll, to force him to guard, particularly when the Hawks emphasized switching.
Doncic scored his 30th point after playing only 17 minutes, using a step-back 3-pointer. He didn't stop there, pouring on Atlanta's defense, scoring 41 points before halftime — setting a new franchise record for points in a single half. The previous record was held by Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 34 in the second half in 2009.
The Mavs were tied 66-66 at the half despite Doncic's historic first half; given defensively, they struggled to contain dribble penetration and had their base pick-and-roll coverages handily picked apart, and the Hawks often generated clean looks from deep, with strong conversion rate in the first half.
"I don't know, maybe after I had 41 in the first half," Doncic on when he realized this was a special performance for him. "But you never really know. Sometimes you feel great, sometimes you don't. Because today, in my warm-ups, I missed a lot of shots."
Derrick Jones Jr. fell hard on his wrist after a failed dunk attempt, noticeably impacting it. He went to the locker room before the break, and Dante Exum started the second half in his place. Jones was later ruled out with a left wrist sprain.
Even after the scoring explosion by Doncic, the Hawks refrained from emphasizing a defensive approach that took the ball out of hands, like blitzing. Dallas' perimeter shooting success continued, helping to create some separation in the third quarter, resulting in a 108-102 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, Doncic tied and broke his previous career high (60 points) with momentum-boosting plays, including a tough baseline pull-up and a step-back 3-pointer. It felt like whatever he shot, he was going to make. He was in a zone.
"You can't get caught up in it. He was hot, he was going and shit, we were trying everything," Young on trying to contain Doncic. "We were trying to trap him, started off with Jalen [Johnson] on him, and then DJ [Dejounte Murray] was switched on him a little bit. We tried a lot of things. ... Sometimes, you have to pick your poison, and after he had scored, what, 60? We started doing more double-teaming, and then they were hitting 3s. It's tough. He's a hell of a player for a reason."
Continuing to be led by Doncic, the Mavs reached a double-figure lead (117-107) with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. A slow step finish on a drive by Doncic got him to 65 points with an and-one. Later on, after making a technical free throw, Doncic's scoring total was pushed to 66.
The Hawks were more aggressive in getting the ball out of Doncic's hands by sticking two defenders on him as the fourth quarter progressed, but the damage was already done. Atlanta sometimes tried a full-court trap, prompting Dallas to deploy him as a screener to open up his teammates, along with teammates hitting pivotal late-game 3s, including Green and Exum.
"They were doubling me the whole time in the fourth quarter," Doncic said. "Sometimes you have to just make the right play and have trust in your teammates."
After Green committed a charge on a drive, Murray continued his strong fourth quarter. After finishing at the rim, the Hawks trailed 131-127 with around four minutes left. Hardaway was left wide open in the corner as Doncic was trapped, knocking down the 3-point attempt to extend Dallas' lead. In transition, Doncic played through contact for an and-one finish. By making the free throw, he scored his 70th point.
Doncic, a frequent focus of rival teams' doubling him, has the Mavs well-prepared to handle such defensive coverage when they ramp up. With a focus on spacing — particularly by stationing Hardaway in the weak-side corner — Dallas felt confident in countering the Hawks' approach by making the right play.
"When they double, pass the ball. We tried to put Tim in the corner because we all know when he gets in the corner, he's going to make nine out of 10," Doncic said. "But just play out of it. Attack the paint and get a great shot."
Doncic's and-one put the Mavs up by double figures, but the Hawks did not go down without a fight. Murray continued to attack, but Atlanta could not achieve a serious rallying effort. A pivotal offensive rebound by Lively led to a wide-open catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for Exum, giving Dallas a 140-134 advantage with under a minute and a half left to play.
Another and-one from Doncic put him at 73 points on the night, proving to be the final nail in the Hawks' coffin, too. He finished his performance being tied for the fourth highest scoring performance in NBA history, trailing two games by Wilt Chamberlain (100 points & 78 points) and Kobe Bryant (81 points).
"We have less than 24 hours until the next game, so I have to recover," Doncic said. "Those names are special. It's unbelievable. I feel special to be in that conversation with those names."
While Doncic's performance stole the show, the Mavs received a strong showing from Green, who totaled 21 points and four assists. Hardaway, who had an inconsistent shooting night, totaled 13 points as the only non-Doncic or non-Green Dallas player to reach double figures. The team shot a staggering 60 percent from the floor and made 19 3-pointers while converting at a 54.3 percent clip.
"Some say they are a system, he is the game plan," Kidd said. "His ability to make shots, create shots, find open guys, he did that at a high level tonight."
"I've said this before, we can't take him for granted. Every night is special. He always does something," Kidd continued. "Sometimes we are a little bit tough on him because of the wins and losses, but what he does on the court is different than anybody else."
The Hawks had a hot offensive night as well. Young racked up 30 points and 11 assists, while three other players scored 22 or more points: Johnson (25 points), Bogdanovic (24 points), and Murray (22 points). Saddiq Bey also scored 16. Atlanta shot 52.6 percent from the floor as a team and made 15 3-pointers while going 44.1 percent.
The Mavs return to action on Saturday night, completing the second leg of a back-to-back against the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center. Doncic quickly focused on his recovery to prepare to play again.
