The Dallas Mavericks earned a 115-105 victory over the Utah Jazz to begin their five game road trip. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led Dallas once again, as Luka scored 29 points and Kyrie added 27. Doncic recorded a triple-double as well, finishing the game with 12 rebounds and 13 assists.
Luka became one of nine players in NBA history to reach 75 career triple-doubles, per Mavs PR. He's also just one triple-double away from tying James Harden on the all-time list.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Luka is the second fastest player in NBA history to reach the 75 triple-double mark with just 392 career games played, via Mavs PR as well. Only Oscar Robertson (182 games) accomplished the feat faster than Doncic.
After the game, however, Luka Doncic did not have much interest in talking about his own individual accomplishments. Instead, the Mavericks superstar placed the focus on the team.
“We got to get the win,” Doncic said when asked about his mindset in the second half of the game. “We're in a tough spot right now, we won nine out of ten I think. We just got to keep getting those wins up.”
Luka loves dishing out assists. Whenever he gets his teammates involved it seems to excite him just as much as a bucket of his own. Doncic was also asked about getting double-digit assists in the victory.
“When I get aggressive, enter the paint, good things happen,” Doncic said. “I just got to do that more. I got to read. If the low man helps, (Daniel) Gafford, (Dereck) Lively, are up there. If the other low man helps there's a corner open so I just try to read the game.”
Luka Doncic continues to take care of business
The Mavericks trade deadline acquisitions have been crucial. Kyrie Irving has been arguably the best co-star in the league. Doncic mentioned Gafford and Lively, who have performed well in the post.
In the end, Luka leads the way on the court. He has continued to establish himself as a legitimate NBA MVP candidate and is becoming one of the best players in the entire NBA.
Luka Doncic wants to win. The Jazz held strong early in the game before Dallas began to pull away in the second half of the contest. Luka and Kyrie set the tone in the third and fourth quarters.
Defense also played a big role in the victory.
“I thought the group after the first quarter, we held them under 25 points there. That first quarter was kind of like a shoot-around,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said after the game. “They were shooting, we were shooting. So I thought our physicality started to come in in that second quarter. After halftime, after we talked about it, I thought the guys did a really good job… I think it was zero second chance points there in the second half.
“I thought on the offensive end, just trusting each other. I thought we had some great looks at three… Just the trust… they missed some early but again, in that second half they went to them. PJ (Washington) made some big threes for us. Timmy (Tim Hardaway Jr.) made some big shots for us so just the trust that everybody has in that locker room.”
Mavericks' challenging schedule
The Mavs will battle the Sacramento Kings in the second of a road back-to-back on Tuesday night. Sacramento and Dallas will enter the game with the exact same record (42-29), so Tuesday's affair will obviously be important. Dallas will play Sacramento once again on Friday.
“I mean, very big games,” Luka Doncic said of the Mavericks-Kings upcoming head-to-head matchups. “It's tough to play in Sacramento… They have a lot of great players. It's going to be a tough two games for sure. We got to be ready. We got to stay together for 48 minutes and be physical.”
The Mavericks and Kings will tip-off at 10 PM EST on Tuesday night.
Follow Us
Subscribe