Dallas Mavericks' second-year superstar Luka Doncic notched another triple-double on Wednesday night, as the Mavs outlasted Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans in an overtime thriller.
Doncic led the way with 30 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, marking the 22nd triple-double of his young career. In doing so, he surpassed NBA Hall of Famer Jason Kidd as Dallas' all-time triple-double leader - and it only took Doncic a grand total of 122 games. The Slovenian sensation also became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 30, 15 and 10 stat line.
Following the 127-123 victory it was revealed that Doncic was suffering from a nagging thumb injury that required an x-ray after his latest triple-double performance. "It hurts, but you've got to get through it," Doncic said, per ESPN. "You're probably going to get hit every game, almost every game, so you've just got to fight through it."
Doncic, who just turned 21 a week ago, is currently averaging 28.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. As a result of his incredible play, the Mavs have improved to 38-25, which puts them in the seventh seed in the Western Conference. That said, Dallas is just 2.5 games back of the fourth seed, currently held by the Houston Rockets.
Check out some highlight's from Luka's record-breaking performance below.
LeBron James Feels Like Only One Person Sees Basketball On His Level
Few can live up to the King’s standards.
When all is said and done, LeBron James will go down as one of the best basketball players to ever grace the court. It’s hard to live up to the standard of James especially when you consider everything he has done for the game. His basketball IQ is incredibly high and in many cases, he is more qualified to be the team’s coach than his actual coaches. LeBron is impressed by very few people although according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN, one of his assistant coaches is the exception to the rule.
As it turns out, LeBron is a huge fan of Jason Kidd and feels as though Kidd is the only person who understands the game as he does. This is, of course, high praise and with this, in mind, it’s easy to see why the Lakers are so successful this season.
David Surowiecki/Getty Images for SiriusXM
“One of those primary assistants would be Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd, whom two sources have independently said James regards as the only person alive who sees the game of basketball with his level of clarity,” Arnovitz wrote.
For now, Frank Vogel is the Lakers coach but if he doesn’t succeed, some feel as though Kidd could become the head coach. If this were the case, we’re sure James would be quite happy about it.