While Luka Doncic was shaping up, the Dallas Mavericks superstar started flicking his All-NBA form.
Doncic had by far his most dominant performance of the season in a 113-100 victory on Monday night over the Houston Rockets. He reached season highs with 33 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, and he recorded his first triple-double of the season, one that had historic significance.
Doncic now has three of the five 30-15-10 appearances in NBA history by players under the age of 22, according to research by Elias Sports Bureau. The others were recorded by some Hall of Famers, Oscar Robertson in 1960 and Magic Johnson in 1981.
There have been just seven 30-15-10 appearances since Doncic entered the league in 2018-19, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic of Denver each have two in that team. Doncic’s three such performances have been second among all players over the past 30 years, behind only Russell Westbrook’s five.
“I can not say I was surprised,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Doncic’s spectacular outing. “He’s a good player.
But Doncic, the popular Las Vegas favorite MVP, did not play to his high standards in the first week and a half of the season, as his conditioning was admittedly a concern.
Carlisle cites the uncertainty of the season’s NBA schedule as a factor in Doncic’s slow start, saying he is one of many players whose season was interrupted off-season because he originally believed the season was in January or February. would begin.
“His preparation program was thrown away and he just got behind the corner,” Carlisle said. “It’s pretty clear now that he’s working back to where he should be. As I mentioned the night before, all his physical and conditioning indicators are really going in a good, strong direction, which is great. And you can see that on the You can see that he is only getting better and better as each day passes. “
Doncic, who missed Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls due to a left quadriceps contrast, constantly did extra work to regain the form that made him an All-NBA pick for the first team last season. That included a 40-minute shooting session at American Airlines Center court after a loss to the Charlotte Hornets in the Mavs’ home opener, in which Doncic was limited to 12 points and said his “legs feel really tired. “
“I’m ready to play,” said Doncic, who outscored eternal MVP candidate James Harden (21 points, 5-of-17 shots, 10 assists) on Monday night. “I’m going to keep doing the conditioning, keep going to get better, stay in better shape. We have a lot of games, so I’ll be in shape.”