Prior to Dec. 23, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic had 50 points in a single game during his five-season career. In his five games over the next eight days, Doncic was in an offensive tear unlike anything ever witnessed in his NBA history.
The Houston Rockets will try to deal with red-hot Doncic when they host the Mavericks on Monday.
Doncic produced 51 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists in Saturday’s 126-125 win over the San Antonio Spurs for the third time in five games with 50 points. Doncic recorded his 50 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists with the Rockets two days before Christmas and his historic 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists triple-double on Dec. 27 against the New York Knicks. broke the
Against the Spurs, Doncic shot 18-of-29, made 6-of-10 3-pointers and added four steals to help lead the Mavericks to a sixth straight win. He averaged 42.2 points (58.7% shooting), 10.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists during the streak.
“Unbelievable,” said Mavericks forward Christian Wood. “Since he’s been in the league for seven years, no one has seen him do what he can. But he has to keep it up.
“He’s running great. He’s obviously playing like an MVP, he’s one of the best players in the league, and I’m happy with him.”
Doncic jokingly mentioned fatigue during this stupendous effort, but the shyness he offered after an overtime win over the Knicks when he said he needed a “recovery beer” Behind that smile lay a troubling truth.
Doncic is averaging just under 40 minutes per game during his winning streak, and with the Mavericks missing Dorian Finney-Smith (groin) and Maxi Kleber (hamstring) from their rotation, Doncic is working even harder than usual. He’s carrying the load. His usage percentage ranks third in the league behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
At this moment Doncic looks unstoppable. The question is how long he can keep doing this.
Coach Jason Kidd said the Mavericks understand that they “have to get healthy quickly or ask too much of Luca.”
The Rockets have been sacrificed twice under Doncic’s control, and Doncic had a triple-double of 35 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists on Dec. 29, adding to the 50-point display that ignited this stretch. I was.
Houston has dropped 8 of 9 games since opening a 7-game homestand with back-to-back wins over the Bucks and Phoenix Suns. Completing his series of the season against Dallas on Monday should provide some relief to the beleaguered defense.
Houston has a net rating of -10.5 over its last nine games, the worst in the NBA. This is largely due to his 118.1 defensive rating during his 24th period in the league.
The Rockets’ defense was relatively decent in Saturday’s 108-88 home loss to the Knicks, but it was another season of bugaboo turnovers that brought the skids to their recent demise. He recorded 25 turnovers against the Rockets against the Knicks.
“We need to understand the importance of possession, because even if you turn the ball over 25 times and defend as well as we do, you still have enough shots to win the game,” Rockets manager Steven Cyrus said. Because I can’t,” he said. He said. “Mathematically it’s impossible.”
–Field level media
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