Luka Doncic will not be among the ten starters in the All Star that takes place on February 20 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, but nobody can argue that the Slovenian is one of the best in the NBA today. The numbers speak for themselves, as demonstrated again on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Dallas Mavericks took the win (132-105) in the emotional reunion with their former coach Rick Carlisle -13 seasons in the franchise, from 2008 to 2021- and a large part of the blame lay with Doncic, author of 30 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds. 22 points he achieved only in the first half.
He is 22 years old
No player reached that score in so few games (234)
The entry of the franchise player of the ‘Mavs’ allowed him to exceed 6,000 points in the league (6,003) and at 22 years old he is the player in history who has needed the fewest games (234) to achieve it. “If he’s not the best player in the world, he’s on top,” Rick Carlisle said of his former pupil.
The Mavericks ruled the roost from the opening shot when Kristaps Porzingis, on the first possession of the game, sank two of his five points before leaving the game with sore knee. Despite Porzingis’ departure, Dallas was never far behind and was only briefly tied 2-2 early on as the first-quarter lead quickly grew to 13 points.
Indiana threatened in the second quarter when they cut the deficit to three points, but the Pacers trailed by a double-digit point margin the rest of the way as the Mavericks closed out the first half on a 12-3 run. The Dallas bench combined for 64 points, led by Bullock and his 6-for-8 shooting from 3-point range.
Dwight Powell added 10 points and Josh Green scored 12 points for the reserves. Starter Maxi Kleber posted a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 13 points with eight assists.
The Mavericks scored 132 points for the second straight game this season, overwhelming Indiana offensively. The Pacers were just 40-for-91 (44% shooting) on the 2-point shot. Domantas Sabonis flirted with his second triple-double in as many nights, posting 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and Duane Washington Jr. scored a career-high 22 points off the bench.
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