On December 27, with 33 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Dallas fans in the American Airlines Center nervously watched as their Mavericks were trailing 103-112 to the visiting New York Knicks. In most NBA games, this game would be over, a Knicks victory. In fact, in the last 20 years of NBA basketball, there have been 13,844 games where a team was leading by 9 or more points with 35 seconds left in the game, and every single one of those 13,844 times, the leading team pulled out with a victory. All of a sudden, the clock hit 0 seconds, and the Knicks and Mavericks were tied 115-115 heading into overtime.
Picture from The New York Post
As a result of quick 3-pointers and one missed free throw leading to a Doncic rebound and score, the Mavericks ended up overcoming the Knicks 126-121 in overtime. The 23-year old guard from Slovenia, Luka Doncic, achieved a career high in both points and rebounds in this game, his stat line being 60 points on 67.7% shooting, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists. This MVP statline happens to also be the first time an NBA player has recorded a 60 point triple double with 20 rebounds. This is the second time a 60-point triple double has been recorded, the first coming from James Harden on January 30, 2018, during his tenure with the Houston Rockets, where he put up 60 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Doncic's 60 points happens to be the Mavericks franchise record for most points scored by a player in a game. This is the Mavericks star's 53rd career triple-double, placing him 10th on the all-time triple doubles leaderboard at only 23 years old.
"I'm tired as hell," Doncic stated after the game. "I need a recovery beer". He averages 33.6 PPG, 8.8 APG, and 8.7 RPG through 32 games.
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