Luka Doncic puts up 42, records yet another triple-double to lead Mavericks past Spurs
Luka Doncic isn’t slowing down in his sophomore campaign in the league.
Doncic finished with yet another triple-double on Monday night, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 117-110 win against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center with a career-high 42 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.
At 20 years old, he’s now just the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double behind just LeBron James.
Dallas led throughout the entire contest on Monday night, and built up a quick 18-point lead in the first quarter. Doncic didn’t waste any time getting started, either, scoring 17 points himself in the opening period.
While the Spurs slowly battled back, and cut the lead to just two points with 30 seconds left in the game, Doncic was there to seal the deal in the end, drilling a stepback 3-pointer over Spurs guard Bryn Forbes.
Dorian Finney-Smith had a career high of his own on Monday night, finishing with 22 points for the Mavericks after shooting 8-of-10 from the field. Kristaps Porzingis had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 11 points off the bench.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 36 points and eight rebounds, shooting 14-of-20 from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points, and Forbes put up 13. The loss marked the sixth straight for San Antonio, too.
Even though he’s just 13 games into the season, and it’s still only November, Doncic has solidified himself among the early league MVP candidates this year. He’s now recorded six triple-doubles this season, two in the past week alone. He’s nearly averaging that mark, too, with 29.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game in Dallas.
While it’s an impressive start, Carlisle is aware that it (likely) won’t last forever. He knows it’s his job, though, to make sure Doncic doesn’t burn out.