Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson squared off for the first time on Wednesday night, resulting in a 127-123 overtime victory for the Mavs.
There were several interesting takeaways from this matchup of stars. In this piece, we'll highlight three of the hotter points of discussion.
Luka Doncic shines
Despite the fact that his thumb was wrapped due to a sprain, Doncic managed to post the 22nd triple-double of his career, breaking Jason Kidd's franchise record.
In his 41 minutes of playing time, the Slovenian-born star scored 30 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from beyond the arc), 17 rebounds, 10 assists, one block and one steal.
Luka Doncic, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Feb. 28, joined Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to record a 30-15-10 stat line before the age of 22. Furthermore, he became the youngest to ever accomplish the feat.
Per @EliasSports, Luka Dončić (21y-5d) joined Magic Johnson (21y-227d) and Oscar Robertson (21y357d) as the only players in @NBA history to record 30p-15r-10a before their 22nd birthday.
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) March 5, 2020
The only other player to post 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a game this season is Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
Porzingis dominates
Simply put, Porzingis was a monster on both ends of the floor. The Latvian-born big man logged 45 minutes, scoring a team-high 34 points on 14-of-28 shooting (3-of-9 from downtown), 12 rebounds, three assists and five blocks.
The combination of Porzingis and Maxi Kleber seemed to cause problems for the Pelicans in the paint. Though he only had five points, Maxi finished with seven rebounds and five blocks.
According to ESPN, the Mavericks set a franchise record with 11 blocks in the first half. The team's previous high was 10 blocks in a half against the Sixers on Jan. 29, 2005.
Zion's progression
By most accounts, Wednesday night's game lived up to the hype — an exciting matchup between young stars.
Williamson was playing on a back-to-back for the first time in his young NBA career. The former Duke standout has played well thus far, scoring 10 or more points in each of the 17 games that he's played. And furthermore, he's posted 20 or more points in his last 13 outings.
In 35 minutes of action against the Mavs on Wednesday night, Zion recorded 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. It wasn't his best outing, but he was still productive.
Williamson spoke of his progression as an NBA player:
“I think my game is progressing,” Williamson said, via ESPN. “Still getting my legs under me, just learning the game. The NBA, these are the best players in the world. They're smart. They have high IQs for the game. They have scouting reports, so I think it's just bringing something new to the table every game.”
The Pelicans, who are currently holding the 12th seed in the Western Conference at 26-34, missed an opportunity to move up in the postseason hunt.
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