Luka Doncic made history Tuesday night, scoring a career-high 60 points and adding 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the Mavericks’ wild 126-121 comeback overtime win over the New York Knicks.
The 60 points are the most in Mavericks’ history, surpassing Dirk Nowitzki’s career high of 53 points. A 60-20-10 game had never happened before in NBA history.
The Dallas superstar set the table for the never-before-seen triple-double in an improbable manner.
The Mavericks trailed by nine points (112-103) with 33.9 seconds remaining in regulation before a furious rally powered by Doncic got the game to overtime.
Doncic scored 18 of his points in the final quarter. His and-one layup with 15.4 seconds remaining brought the deficit to three (112-109), and his 10th assist of the night was to Spencer Dinwiddie, who connected on a three-pointer to make the deficit one-point (113-112) with 9.1 seconds remaining.
After two Knicks free throws restored their lead to three, New York intentionally fouled Doncic on the ensuing possession to prevent him from attempting a game-tying three-pointer.
But the move backfired for the Knicks. After making the first foul shot, Doncic intentionally missed the second, expertly grazing the rim and hitting the backboard with the intentional miss.
The rebound bounced around off multiple players before it found itself back in the hands of Doncic, who shot and connected on an improbable 11-foot jumper in one motion.
Suddenly it was 115-115 with 1.0 seconds remaining, and the game was headed to overtime.
Doncic reached the 60-point mark in an overtime period where Dallas outscored the Knicks 11-6 to steal an absolute classic.
WHAT TO KNOW
Doncic’s stat line is being discussed as possibly the greatest regular season performance in the history of the NBA.
His 60 points tied the record for the highest-scoring triple-double in NBA history, matching James Harden’s 60 for the Houston Rockets in a January 30, 2018 win over the Orlando Magic.
Doncic was 21-of-31 from the floor and 16-of-22 from the free-throw line. He scored 38 points after halftime as the Mavericks rallied from a deficit that was as large as 12 points.
The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week scored or assisted on 85 of the Mavericks’ 126 points. That is the most points he generated in any game of his career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Doncic is only 23 years old, but he already has six career 40-point triple-doubles, tying LeBron James for the fifth most in the history of the NBA.
The 21 rebounds is also a career-high. Only Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Elgin Baylor ever had a game with at least 20 rebounds during a 50-point triple-double.
“To do something that’s never been done before, that’s hard to do,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “There’s been some great players before him. Elgin Baylor and Wilt, he was in that class, and then he separated himself and made his own class.”
The Mavericks’ win is their fourth consecutive and moves them three games over .500 (19-16), both marks matching their season bests.
The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson was unable to play due to a hip injury, delaying what would have been his return to Dallas.
Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 33 points, and Dallas native Julius Randle had 29 points and 18 rebounds for New York (18-17), who lost a fourth consecutive game after an eight-game winning streak, their longest in almost nine years.
BY THE NUMBERS
Perhaps the most stunning statistic from the Mavericks’ win over the Knicks was that NBA teams were 0-13,884 in the last 20 seasons when down at least nine points in the final 35 seconds before Tuesday, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
Dallas is now the only team to overcome such a deficit over the last two decades.
The win for Dallas also snaps a five-game losing streak to New York on their home court. Before Tuesday, the last time the Mavericks beat the Knicks at the American Airlines Center was on January 25, 2017.
WHO SAID
After grabbing the rebound and putting back the incredible last-second tying shot, Doncic danced and waved his arms wildly in the air as though Dallas had won the game.
“A lot of people asked me about this back in the locker room, and I said I thought we won it,” Doncic said. “That’s why I went to the crowd like this. I thought we won the game, and then I see it’s tied. I was like, ‘Oof.'”
Doncic played a season-high 47 minutes, resting only a total of 12 seconds after halftime.
“I’m tired as hell,” Doncic said with a smile during the Mavericks television broadcast’s on-court interview at the end of the game. “I need a recovery beer.”
NEXT UP
Dallas plays the last of a three-game home stand against the Houston Rockets (10-24) on Thursday.
