Mavs’ Luka Doncic dazzles with 73, tied for 4th in NBA history
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had a night to remember Friday, lighting up State Farm Arena for a career-high 73 points in a 148-143 win over the host Atlanta Hawks
It was the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, and Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson tied Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid’s 70-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday for the fourth-most in NBA history. Chamberlain, who holds the NBA record with 100 points, also had 78 outings, while Kobe Bryant finished on Jan. 10 with 100 points. 22, 2006 with 81 points.
“Those names are special,” Doncic said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Friday night was just the 15th 70-point game of his NBA career, and Doncic is the 10th player to reach the plateau.
Doncic scored 70 points on a three-point play with 2:58 left. With Dallas leading 140-136, he added another three-point play to cap off his effort.
Doncic, who averaged 33.6 points, said his career average was “probably at the top” but added that he was just focused on winning.
“We’re struggling right now,” he said of the Mavs, who had lost three straight before Friday. “The idea was [to win]. We played great.”
Doncic’s epic night included 41 points in the half, breaking Dirk Nowitzki’s franchise record for points in the half. He scored 57 points at the end of the third quarter, then opened the fourth with eight straight points to finish with 73 points.
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All-Time Highest-Scoring Games
Mavs star Luka Doncic scored a franchise-record 73 points Friday night against the Hawks, marking just the 15th 70-point game in NBA history.
| YEAR | PLAYER | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | W. Chamberlain | 100 |
| 2006 | K. Bryant | 81 |
| 1961 | W. Chamberlain | 78 |
| Fri. | L. Doncic | 73 |
| 1978 | D. Thompson | 73 |
| 1962 | W. Chamberlain | 73 |
| 1962 | W. Chamberlain | 73 |
| 1962 | W. Chamberlain | 72 |
| 2023 | D. Lillard | 71 |
| 2023 | D. Mitchell | 71 |
| 1994 | D. Robinson | 71 |
| 1960 | E. Baylor | 71 |
| 1963 | W. Chamberlain | 70 |
| 2017 | D. Booker | 70 |
| 2024 | J. Embiid | 70 |
After opening with 18 points in the first quarter, Doncic scored 23 points in the second quarter.
He finished 25 of 33 from the field, including 8 of 13 from 3-point range, and converted 15 of 16 free throws.
“He was hot. He was going,” said Trae Young, who led Atlanta with 30 points. “We were trying everything. We were trying to trap him.”
Josh Green scored 21 points for Dallas, but Doncic carried the offense.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Green said.
Doncic also had 10 rebounds and seven assists. He became the fifth NBA player to score at least 70 points and 10 rebounds in a game, joining Chamberlain (six times), Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, and Embiid on Monday
With assists in NBA history, no game in NBA history has had as many points, rebounds and assists as Doncic did on Friday.
When asked if his game plan changes because Doncic is so hot, Mavs coach Jason Kidd laughed and said, “That’s the game plan.”
“Some say they plan, that’s the game plan,” Kidd said. “The ability to make shots, make shots and find open guys, he did that at a high level tonight.”
He added: “I’ve said this before, we can’t take him for granted. Every night is different. He always does something. Sometimes we’re a little bit hard on him because there’s wins and losses, but what he does is different from everyone else.” ” otherwise in court.”
Doncic previously had a career-high 60 points, set on Dec. Oct. 27, 2022, against the Knicks.