NBA 2021: Luka Doncic climbs to 11th all-time in career triple-doubles. The 22-year-old Slovenian finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists as the Mavericks revival continued with their 10th win in their last 12 games.
Prior to the All-Star break, the Mavericks were trending in the right direction with a 9-2 record in their last 11 games.
The Dallas franchise has managed to transfer that momentum to the second half of the season, with a win against the San Antonio Spurs in their first game after the break. And yet again, it was their Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic that put the exclamation mark on the win.
An every angle look at @luka7doncic sealing the @dallasmavs 4th consecutive W! pic.twitter.com/Oc9AVhVtcp
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2021
The 2019 Rookie of the Year finished the game with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists for his 33rd career triple-double – that ties him for 11th all-time with Hall of Famer and Celtics legend Bob Cousy.
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Doncic has reached the landmark in just 166 games and has just four active players ahead of him – Russell Westbrook (2nd, 156), LeBron James (5th, 97), James Harden (8th, 54), and Nikola Jokic (9th, 50).
Although he led the way, a large part of the Mavericks’ revival has come since Kristpas Porzingis’ play turned a corner in early February.
An every angle look at @luka7doncic sealing the @dallasmavs 4th consecutive W! pic.twitter.com/Oc9AVhVtcp
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2021
“He was great on defense. He passed the ball. He cut. He moved. He did virtually everything,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said postgame of Porzingis. “He’s really adapting well to teams putting smaller guys on him. … He was just tremendous.”
Carlisle further added that Porzingis is ‘getting near’ to where the Mavs envisioned his potential post-surgery.
With the victory, the Mavericks have won 10 of their last 12 – their best stretch since 18-1 in their 2011 championship season. The win also helps them tie with the San Antonio Spurs for the eighth seed in the West with a 19-16 record, a huge improvement from the 9-14 record they had over five weeks earlier.
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