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Though they play on opposing sides, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Paul George seems to have a growing respect for Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic.
Doncic and George squared off on Sunday night, resulting in a 105-103 victory for Dallas. In his 34 minutes of action, Doncic led the Mavs in scoring with 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from beyond the arc), seven assists, three rebounds and one steal. George, on the other hand, led the Thunder in the scoring column, posting 36 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes.
Following the game, George had high praise for Luka's on-court capability:
“He’s got an advantage over most rookies,” George told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. “He’s played professionally a lot sooner than a lot of these guys, and it shows. He has a veteran, pro-level game. He’s a special talent. He has game.”
George has a valid point. Doncic may be a rookie in the NBA, but he has a plethora of experience on the international stage. The Slovenian-born star has been playing professional basketball since the age of 13, when he signed with Real Madrid. At 19, he led Madrid's senior squad to the 2018 EuroLeague title, winning the EuroLeague MVP and EuroLeague Final Four MVP.
In his 34 appearances with the Mavs this season, Doncic has racked up averages of 19.6 points on 43.7 percent shooting from the field (37.1 percent from beyond the arc), 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.5 minutes per outing.
Luka Doncic and the Mavs (17-18 and fourth in the Southwest Division standings) will wrap up their back-to-back set against the Thunder on Monday night. Tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.
