Before today, I thought Luka Doncic’s signature game was Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns a few months ago. Everyone remembers how he scored the same amount of points as the entire Suns squad by himself in the first half. However, he’s got a new feather in his cap thanks to the amazing display he put on against the New York Knicks.
We’re all used to seeing triple-doubles from the Slovenian maestro, but he put himself in a class of his own to become the first to ever have a 60-point triple-double in NBA history. His 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists showed how completely he can dominate a game. I also think that it cements his place in the MVP conversation.
And if the triple-double itself wasn’t enough, Doncic also made history by helping the Mavericks become the first team in the last 20 seasons to come back and win while facing a nine-point deficit with less than 35 seconds left in regulation.
The Mavericks pulled off what 13,884 other squads couldn’t do and Doncic claims the lion’s share of credit for the improbable comeback. The fact that he was the one to make the basket that forced overtime makes the victory even sweeter.
Now the Mavericks have to figure out how to get Doncic more help. The race for playoff positioning is unbelievably tight in the Western Conference, and the first and 10th seeds are only separated by six games. Doncic will not be able to perform like this every night, and it’s not fair to expect him to do it anyway.
For now, though, let’s just give credit to the man. He’s earned himself a good rest after giving us one of the most memorable individual performances of all time.
