Luka Doncic posted career highs of 60 points and 21 rebounds, dished out 10 assists for a triple-double, and his put-back as time expired in regulation allowed the Dallas Mavericks to down the visiting New York Knicks in overtime, 126-121 on Tuesday.
Doncic led the Mavericks on a raucous, fourth-quarter comeback from down nine points with just 44.6 seconds remaining. He scored 10 points in the final 2:38 of regulation, including the last three in a wild sequence to force overtime.
New York sent Doncic to the free-throw line with a take foul, leading 115-112 with 4.2 seconds remaining. Doncic made the front end, then — after intentionally missing the second — chased down the carom tipped backwards from a scrum and hoisted up a buzzer-beater to knot the score at 115.
In the overtime, Dallas did not yield a field goal until more than four minutes in and after building a five-point lead. Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie put the game away with foul shooting down the stretch.
Doncic’s final two free throws bumped him to his final scoring total, making him the first player in NBA history with a triple-double of 60 points and at least 20 rebounds. His was the first 50-point and 20-rebound triple-double since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.
For Doncic, Tuesday marked his second game with at least 50 points in the last three outings — while the Knicks gave up at least 51 points to one player for the second time in four games. New York’s losing streak, which reached four games with Tuesday’s loss, began Dec. 21 when the Knicks gave up 51 points to Toronto’s Pascal Siakam.
The loss in Dallas also marked the Knicks’ second in the current skid when New York coughed up a lead in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, giving up the winning basket to Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan last Friday.
Doncic’s historic performance overshadowed a career-best night from New York’s Quentin Grimes, who scored a personal-high 33 points and matched his career high with seven made 3-pointers.
Julius Randle added 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the loss, and Mitchell Robinson added 20 points and 16 rebounds. Dinwiddie scored 25 points and Christian Wood chipped in 19 points for the Mavericks.
New York lost RJ Barrett less than two minutes into Tuesday’s contest due to a finger laceration.
–Field Level Media