Doncic stands alone with longest 35-point triple-double streak،
DALLAS – Luka Doncic hasn’t given much thought to his latest historic feat.
Doncic recorded his fourth straight 35-point triple-double Thursday night while leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 114-108 home victory over the Miami Heat, breaking a tie with Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook for the longest such streak in NBA history. . It was Doncic's fifth straight triple-double, scoring at least 30 points each, something only Westbrook had accomplished before.
“It's great, especially when it comes to winning,” Doncic said, brushing aside the subject after his 35-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance. “That’s all that matters right now.”
It was a well-deserved victory for the Mavericks, who lost the previous three games despite Doncic's individual brilliance and have lost five of their last six.
Dallas (35-28) had to battle back from a 15-point deficit after a revamped starting lineup — including center Daniel Gafford and wing Derrick Jones Jr. in place of Derek Lively II and Josh Green — failed to immediately resolve the problem. issues that have allowed the Mavs to rank last in the league in defensive efficiency since the All-Star break. Dallas made drastic improvements in this area the rest of the night, holding the Heat to 25 points or less over the final three quarters.
Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer, continued his trend of posting absurd numbers, often in spectacular fashion. The highlight of his outing was hitting a hotly contested 3-pointer that gave the Mavs the lead midway through the fourth quarter on one possession when he received the ball with two seconds left on the clock shootings.
“Those are shots I like,” said Doncic, who made 12 of 24 from the floor and 7 of 13 from 3-point range. “Once I let go, I knew it was going in.”
The same has been true for his Dallas teammates, who regularly see Doncic hit shots with a high degree of difficulty, whether in play or attempting trick shots.
“Come on, I trust him to kick the ball to the other side of the court,” said Lively, who had a game-high plus-17 plus-minus in 23 minutes off the bench and was a factor major defense during the critical period. . “It’s going in.”
It was Doncic's 15th triple-double of the season and 71st of his six-year career, which already ranks ninth in NBA history.
Doncic has averaged a triple-double – 36.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 10.5 assists – over his last 23 games.
“It’s insane,” said forward PJ Washington, who arrived in Dallas from Charlotte in a deadline trade deal. “I've never seen anything like it. I mean, he's one of the greatest players I've ever seen play and just being on his team, I think it's special . So cherish every moment.”
Mavs coach Jason Kidd, who scored at least 35 points in just two of his 107 triple-doubles during his career, had a pregame chat with fellow Hall of Famer and Mavs commentator TNT colors Reggie Miller on how Doncic's scoring ability compares to Michael Jordan's.
“I've always said this: We can't take this young man for granted,” Kidd said. “You see something as rare as a Picasso.”
Kidd then shifted the focus from Doncic's dominance to his composure on the court, a facet of the game that has been one of the perennial MVP candidates' biggest flaws. Kidd smiled as he noted that Doncic, whose 13 technical fouls this season are three short of the threshold for an automatic one-game suspension, hasn't received a technical foul in the last two games.
“We’re rolling,” Kidd said half-jokingly. “You talk about the triple-double streak. I think we have the no-T streak, so that's something we need to talk about as well. I think he has a little more energy now and I think his Cold-blooded is in a really good place, no matter the win or loss. He loves to win. He wants to win, but I think you're starting to see him turn the corner here.
