Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was at a loss for words about Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic when prompted as how to slow down the Mavs star who is one of the league's MVP candidates.

“It's not like anybody's stopping him this year. He's averaging like 30 [points] a game,” Donovan said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.

Technically, Doncic entered the night averaging 28.8 points per game, but the point is a legitimate one either way. The Thunder were facing Doncic for the first time this season, after he averaged 21.3 points across three contests between the two teams last year when he was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

Fast-forward a year and Doncic has now firmly entrenched himself in the MVP race, averaging 9.5 rebounds and 9.0 assists on a nightly basis in addition to his gaudy scoring figures for the Mavs.

Whatever Billy Donovan and Co. learn about guarding Luka Doncic on Tuesday will help them the next time that they're tasked with slowing the surefire All-Star in their next meeting on Jan. 27. If the first two-plus months are any indication, there is no “slowing” the Mavs youngster and teams could only hope of keeping him from notching a triple-double and taking over the game completely.

While there are over three months of the NBA regular season to play, there exists the possibility that the Thunder and Mavs could meet in the postseason, with Dallas currently clinging to the No. 5 seed and the Thunder sitting 3.5 games back in the No. 7 slot in the Western Conference.