published by: Siddharth Sriram
Last update: March 10, 2024, 10:34 AM IST
United States of America (USA)
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in action (Credit: AP)
Doncic scored 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, eclipsing Russell Westbrook’s mark of five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles set during the 2016-17 season.
Dallas star Luka Doncic captured a slice of NBA history Saturday, becoming the first player to post six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles to help the Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124.
Doncic scored 39 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists, eclipsing Russell Westbrook’s mark of five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles set during the 2016-17 season.
The Slovenian star extended his own NBA record with a fifth straight triple-double with 35 or more points. He added three steals and two blocked shots for good measure.
“It just shows where he’s playing right now,” said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd – who called Doncic’s form “as rare as Picasso.”
“(That’s) the level he’s at, being able to score and also being able to find his teammates and then, finally, being able to rebound the ball to help us on the defensive end,” Kidd said .
Doncic scored 26 points in a back-and-forth first half. That included 21 in the second quarter, when Doncic seemed galvanized by chants of “Luka Sucks” from Pistons fans.
“Well, we know he’s not bad,” Kidd said. “I think we know he likes it when people talk to him. If that’s what motivated him, we’d like to see that happen even more.”
Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, which increased its lead to 16 points in the third quarter and opened the fourth on a 7-0 run.
Cade Cunningham scored 33 points with 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Pistons.
But it was another night of frustration for Detroit and it boiled over in the fourth when Jalen Duren was ejected for a strong push by PJ Washington – who had pushed Duren to the side to help teammate Daniel Gafford after Duren fouled him a foul under the basket.
In other early games, the Los Angeles Clippers pushed their winning streak to three games with a 112-102 home victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Paul George scored 22 points, Kawhi Leonard added 19 and James Harden had a triple-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Los Angeles, which trailed by 14 points in the third quarter and trailed by two at the entrance to the fourth. .
They opened the final period on an 11-0 run and held on for the win.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)
