Greatness recognizes greatness. That is certainly what Luka Doncic felt when he went toe-to-toe with fellow MVP candidate Jayson Tatum in an enthralling duel that saw them drop incredible scoring feats to try and will their teams to victory.
However, it was Tatum's Boston Celtics that prevailed over Doncic's Dallas Mavericks, 125-112. The Celtics star dropped 37 points and 13 boards to combat Doncic's 42 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, and both looked every bit of the MVP candidates many fans and pundits have been touting them as.
Despite the loss, Luka Doncic had nothing but praise for Jayson Tatum, with the Slovenian international expressing his excitement over sharpening his craft against one of the few rare players who could match him blow for blow.
“It’s always the best. He's an amazing player. He's top 10, in the MVP (conversation) … he's shown he's not a future face of the league, but he already is, & he's an amazing player & it's always fun to play with those kind of guys,” Doncic said, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.
In the end, Tatum's supporting cast, led by Jaylen Brown, came to play, while the Mavs' offense sputtered apart from Doncic and Christian Wood's contributions. That has been the story for the Mavs thus far this season. Only Doncic, Wood, and Spencer Dinwiddie have been reliable shot creators for the Mavs, which has necessitated such scoring outbursts from Luka on a nightly basis.
Alas, Luka Doncic has always welcomed the spirit of competition, as he of all people know that iron sharpens iron. There's just something that clicks within Doncic everytime he goes up against some of the best wings in the NBA (he always lights up the Los Angeles Clippers, for example).
Thus, Doncic has plenty of motivation to keep the level of play he's showed going for as long as he could with Jayson Tatum here to stay alongside him as one of the favorites to take home the MVP award.
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