Luka Doncic set the Dallas Mavericks’ all-time record for triple-doubles on Wednesday, finishing with 30 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 127-123 overtime win over New Orleans.
That’s right. Doncic, who turned 21 on Feb. 28, is already the franchise leader in triple-doubles, with 22.
“He did it in 122 games, and the 21 triple-doubles that Jason Kidd had were in 500 games,” Mavs TV voice Mark Followill said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence, putting the accomplishment in perspective. “I think this is going to be a career and his time with the Mavs that is always going to have unique superlatives and interesting achievements. We’ll find different ways to describe it.”
Doncic, the third overall pick in 2018, leads Dallas (38-25) in scoring (28.5 points per game), rebounds (9.5) and assists (8.8).
“Luka is somebody who’s very James Harden-like,” Hollowill said. “About 51 percent of his shots are in the paint, 44 percent of his shots are threes, and five percent of his shots are mid-range shots between the paint and the three-point line. As you know, those are shots that the NBA is sort of moving away from because they’re the quote-unquote inefficient two-pointers.”
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle didn’t have to force Doncic into that offensive approach, either.
“Rick said, ‘He’s naturally done that because he’s really smart and he understands where the value areas are on the floor, and I haven’t had to coax him to do that,’” Hollowill said. “That might be a way I’ve seen Luka grow over the last year-and-a-half. He just has a tremendous natural understanding for the game, and there are different ways that that sort of shows up and manifests itself the more that you see him game in and game out.”
Zion Williamson finished with 21 points and six rebounds for the Pelicans (26-36), who trail Memphis (31-31) by five games for the final playoff spot in the West.