Friday was a special night for NBA hoops. Not only did Suns star Devin Booker deliver a 62-point masterpiece against the Pacers, but Mavericks star Luka Doncic made history by scoring 73 points in the Mavericks’ 148-143 win. He shot 75.8% from the field, including 4-for-8 from three-point range.
73 ‼️
THE AND-1 BRINGS LUKA DONCIC UP TO 73 POINTS🤯
He's the 10th player ever to score 70+ points 👏
Mavs-Hawks | #NBARivalsWeek
Live on NBA TV | https://t.co/VOhuWg9Bwr pic.twitter.com/TD44BOAbez
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2024
While we’ve seen a number of 70-point games over the years, we’ve never seen one this efficient, and Doncic somehow still nearly finished with a triple-double at 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Really, the game was just the latest masterclass of what’s been an amazing season for Doncic and it’s forcing even his greatest critics to re-think his place in the MVP discussion. Best of all, the game resulted in a win for Dallas and moved them further up over .500 on the season. All across the league, fans and analysts took a moment to recognize Doncic and the show he just put on in Atlanta.
NBA Fans Are Shocked Over Historic Night
Luka’s 73-point game is not unexpected for anyone who has followed his career. Even so, the way he effortlessly scores makes it look so easy on the court and it speaks volumes about his natural skill set and talent. He was unstoppable against the Hawks tonight, scoring in myriads of ways and flashing his deep bag of tricks to create open looks.
On social media, the feed was blazing with narratives and some went so far as to put Doncic in the GOAT conversation.
True or False:
Luka Doncic has the potential to go down as the greatest basketball player of all time. pic.twitter.com/vxB4WHnk8H
— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) January 27, 2024
Of course, it’s not lost on people that this performance came against the team that traded him on draft night (the Hawks). Draymond Green was among the first on X to point this out.
Luka Unreal 😱😱😱😱! They traded Luka right?
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) January 27, 2024
Luka’s explosion tonight also marks the continuation of an interesting trend. As Shams Charania pointed out on Twitter, Luka is now the fourth out of ten total players in history to have cracked 70 points in the last year alone.
Luke Doncic: 73 points in Mavericks win in Atlanta – just the fourth player in NBA history to reach that plateau along with Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and David Thompson.
Tenth player in NBA history to score 70 or more; four have come in the last year.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 27, 2024
No matter how high the scoring gets, however, it’s still shocking to see players score this much in 2024, especially with the kind of efficiency that Luka had tonight.
No fucking way someone else had 70
— Rusty Buckets 🇵🇸 (@RustyBUCKETS321) January 27, 2024
Whether you love him or hate him, Luka Doncic is undeniable at this point and he’s on track for a Hall-of-Fame career if he keeps this up. But unless he can deliver when it counts the most (in April, May, and June), then Doncic will never be considered on the level of the true legends like LeBron, Kobe, and others who he’s trying to live up to.
Doncic Is Keeping The Mavericks Alive
At 25-20 this season, the Mavericks are still not on the same level as the true West contenders, but they have a chance against anyone thanks to the heroics of Luka. This season, through 37 games, he’s averaging 33.6 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.5 rebounds per game on 48.2% shooting. He’s almost single-handedly kept the Mavericks in the playoff picture out West as his teammate and co-star (Kyrie Irving) has been in and out of the lineup with injuries.
For Luka, it’s been an absolutely ridiculous tear this season, and at 24 years old this could be just the start of a long and historic basketball career. As for the prognosis of this season, there is no question that the Mavericks are still a piece or two away from title contention but the pressure has never been higher for them to make a move and maximize what they have with Luka Doncic’s dominant play.
“Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support”
