Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to victory over the Atlanta Hawks with a 73-point gala. It was still close in the end
Franchise record, season best, fourth most points in a game in NBA history – Luka Doncic’s performance against the Atlanta Hawks was special in many ways. Only the eternal Wilt Chamberlain (100 and 78) and Kobe Bryant (81) have scored more points in a game than the Slovenian in the past. “These names in front of me are special. It’s unbelievable,” said Doncic after the game. Doncic converted 76 percent of all field goals, including eight of 13 threes. Of course, he also improved the season record of 70 points recently set by Joel Embiid.
Doncic was even applauded by the Hawks fans at the end – perhaps also because he has a little history with Atlanta. The Hawks selected the now 24-year-old third in the 2019 draft and transferred him directly to Dallas.
“I heard a couple MVP calls, which is obviously wonderful,” Doncic said with a smile. “I was just in the flow, no matter what the defense gave me. They doubled me in the second half, so I tried to make some plays.”
Despite the fabulous performance, the Mavs only won narrowly against the Hawks in the end. The lead changed hands eleven times and the score was 66:66 at the break. In the end, the score was 148:143. Head Coach Jason Kidd denied that Doncic’s individual performance was at the expense of the team or the tactical guidelines: “He’s the game plan.”
“We struggled a bit at the end but really wanted the win,” said Doncic. His team played great, perhaps not defensively, but “we had a great offense” – mainly thanks to himself.
