Just when the NBA landscape started focusing more attention on Joel Embiid, the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves, Luka Doncic forced his way into the spotlight.
Taking on the Atlanta Hawks Friday night, Doncic turned in a new career-best performance in what went down as a historic night for the Dallas Mavericks superstar. What made his career night more special was the fact that the Hawks technically drafted Doncic with the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft before executing a trade for Trae Young instead.
Doncic was on fire from the very start, and by the time the first half was over, he tallied 41 points. While the Hawks started trying to put more ball pressure on the Mavs, Doncic didn’t slow down in the second half, setting a new career-high with 73 points. To no surprise, the internet went berserk over the NBA MVP candidate’s big night.
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Luka Doncic sets new career-high with 73 points
Any time you can break one of Dirk Nowitzki’s records, you’re doing something right. Luka Doncic’s 41 first-half points set a new Dallas Mavericks franchise record, besting Nowitzki’s 34 points he scored in the second half against Utah back in 2009. In doing so, Doncic also had the third-highest FG percentage by an NBA player in any half dating back to the 1997-98 season.
Doncic’s night set social media off, with everyone who had a chance to witness greatness chiming in on X. Here are some of the best reactions we’ve seen.
For the record, Devin Booker also scored 62 points tonight, but as you can see from the tweet above, the Phoenix Suns did not win. This is reminiscent of Karl-Anthony Towns’ recent 62-point performance, where the Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Charlotte Hornets by three points.
But Doncic? He didn’t suffer the same fate, with the Mavericks topping the Hawks 148-143. Just think: four more points and Doncic’s jersey number would match his stat line. Oh well, there’s always next time.
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