Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is mature beyond his years, and it never ceases to amaze Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.
The 20-year-old Slovenian once again came up big in the Mavs' 120-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the American Airlines Center on Friday, notching another near triple-double of 35 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 34 minutes of action.
Doncic also drained perhaps the biggest shot of the ball game, knocking in a cold-blooded 3-pointer with 45 ticks left in regulation to put Dallas firmly in the driver's seat. He converted on 11 of his 23 field goal attempts and shot a blistering 8-for-12 from downtown.
Apart from Doncic's ability to put up buckets with ease, Carlisle was particularly in awe of the 6-foot-7 guard's ability to make his teammates better. Carlisle, who has mentored a lot of great players throughout his storied coaching career, has never seen a young player with such poise and grace to make the right decisions when it mattered the most.
“Wisdom beyond his years. When teams junk up the game… he puts his teammates in great positions. He’s very, very unselfish & that’s how you’ve got to be when you’re as good as he is. That’s an amazing thing for a 20-year-old star,” Rick Carlisle described Luka Doncic, per Ben Golliver of Washington Post.
With averages of 28.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.1 steal, Donic is pretty much a shoo-in for his first All-Star nod this season. The MVP-contender has already earned praises from the biggest names in basketball, and he will likely reap more compliments as the season progresses.
Doncic's individual brilliance aside, the biggest thing for the Mavs is that they are winning once again and are primed to return to the postseason. Dallas recorded its fourth consecutive win on Friday and is still ranked sixth in the West with a 27-15 slate.
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