Luka Doncic has first-half triple-double in Mavs’ blowout of Jazz،
DALLAS – Luka Doncic had 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists playing just three periods and recorded the first first-half triple-double of his career in the Dallas Mavericks' 147-97 victory over the Utah Jazz Wednesday evening.
Doncic recorded his 60th career triple-double to pass Larry Bird and become sole possession of ninth overall in his career.
“Pretty amazing,” said Doncic, who wore a thin headband for the first time just days after becoming a first-time father. “I honestly don't know what to say. We all know who Larry Bird was, so this is pretty special.”
Doncic shot 14 of 25 from the floor, 6 of 12 from 3-point range. He played 32 minutes, slightly above his per game average.
“Luka set the tone with that, knocking down shot after shot after shot…after shot after shot after shot,” said Tim Hardaway Jr. “I thought he was going to go 50-20-20.”
Doncic entered the final 1:30 of the second quarter with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. He grabbed a rebound with 1:11 left following a missed free throw by Keyonte George. Twelve seconds later, he threw a pass inside to Derek Lively II, whose dunk produced his 10th assist.
With real-time stats on the players on the court displayed on video boards at the American Airlines Center, the crowd followed Doncic's progress and erupted in cheers after Lively's dunk. It was the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history.
Doncic admitted that he, too, was aware of his numbers in the final minutes of the half.
“I was going for the [assist on the] last basket,” he said.
It was the Mavericks' highest-scoring game this season and two points shy of their highest-scoring game ever in regulation.
Dallas' 52-point lead in the final minutes was one point shy of the franchise record set in November 2014 in a 123-70 victory over Philadelphia. The Mavericks shot a season-high 55.4 percent from the floor.
They entered the game leading the NBA with an average of 15.9 3-pointers per game and made 22 of them on 49 attempts.
For the Jazz, this ties the franchise's second-worst loss behind only a 56-point loss to Milwaukee (158-102) in March 1979.
“It was an absolutely terrible performance,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “It seemed like the Mavericks were moving at a different pace than us from start to finish.”
Doncic finished the first half shooting 10 of 17 from the floor and 6 of 10 from 3-point range in 20 minutes.
Doncic's 60 triple-doubles came in 349 regular season games. Bird played 897.
Kyrie Irving had 26 points for Dallas. The Mavericks lost their previous two games, both at home, by missing one of their star guards: Doncic (Friday vs. Memphis, birth of a child) and Irving (Saturday vs. Oklahoma City, foot injury).
Ochai Agbaji led the Jazz with 21 points. Utah played without leading scorers Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson. Markkanen, also their leading rebounder, is dealing with a hamstring injury and has missed six straight games. Clarkson sat out for the fourth time in five games with a hamstring injury.
The Jazz have the most road losses in the NBA this season with 10 in 11 games.
The game was added to the schedule last week after both teams were eliminated from the NBA's season-opening tournament. Each team arrived after three days off.
