Luka Doncic was at his dominant best when he exploded with 41 points against the Houston Rockets which helped the Dallas Mavericks win the game by 121-115 on Tuesday at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
It was a glorious moment for the Slovenian as former Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki called the In-Season tournament game from the sidelines. He greatly influences the franchise as he is responsible for guiding them to their only NBA championship in 2011. Now the people and the fans expect the same out of Luka Doncic soon.
In a playful way, Doncic after the game trolled the German legend for his commentary skills. Rating his analysis, Doncic said, “I don’t know. He didn’t talk much.”
As a giveback, Nowitzki also playfully criticized Doncic’s shotmaking. The German even went further to put him in the same line as Brad Davis for his weird way of shooting.
“He’s probably the best horse player I’ve ever seen. Outside of Brad Davis… Luka has got to best horse player I’ve ever seen. He is making some straight gar-bagé,” he said.
Apart from Doncic, Kyrie Irving also had a great outing with 27 points, two rebounds and five assists. For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Like last season, Doncic is off to another scorching start for the Dallas Mavericks. In 17 games this season, he averaged 31.1 points, eight rebounds and 7.9 assists. His last five games have seen him explode all 30-plus point performance. He also had one 40-plus point performance.
He is currently second in the MVP ladder as he leapfrogged Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid. His performances have helped Dallas maintain a 2-2 record in West Group B of the In-season tournament while they are third in the Western Conference in the NBA with a record of 11-6. Only Minnesota Timberwolves (13-4) and reigning champions Denver Nuggets (12-6) are ahead of the Mavericks.
The Mavericks look like a well-oiled unit with Doncic leading the roster. Kyrie Irving has also done his part pretty well till now. But it will be exciting to see how they hold up during the business end of the season.
