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Luka Doncic posts unprecedented 29-point triple-double in 1st half – NBA.com
With his 60th career triple-double, Doncic passes Larry Bird for 9th place on the NBA's all-time triple-double leaderboard.
Associated Press
Luka Doncic joins Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic as the only players since 2000 to post a triple-double by halftime.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic recorded the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history, leading the Dallas Mavericks to a 147-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Doncic finished the first half with 29 points on 10-for-17 shooting with 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 20 minutes.
Doncic joins Russell Westbrook, Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic as the only players since 2000 to have a triple-double by halftime. Westbrook and Jokic both did it twice.
It was also the 60th career triple-double for Doncic, who moves past Larry Bird into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time triple-double list.
“Pretty amazing,” said Doncic, who sported a thin headband for the first time only days after becoming a first-time father. “I don’t know what to say, honestly. We all know who Larry Bird was, so it’s pretty special.”
Doncic’s 60 triple-doubles have come in 349 regular-season games. Bird played 897.
With his 60th career triple-double secured in the first half, Luka Dončić has now passed Larry Bird (59) for 9th place on the NBA’s all-time triple-doubles list. pic.twitter.com/YsJE9jb9do
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) December 7, 2023
With the game in hand, Doncic sat out the fourth quarter and finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He and James Harden are the only players since 2000 to post a 40-point triple-double in three quarters.
“Luka set the tone … knocking down shot after shot after shot after shot,” Tim Hardaway Jr. said. “I thought he was going to go 50-20-20.”
Doncic went into the final 1:30 of the second quarter with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. He grabbed a rebound with 1:11 left following a missed free throw by Keonte George. Twelve seconds later, he lofted a pass inside to Dereck Lively II, whose dunk produced his 10th assist.
With real-time statistics for players on the court displayed on the American Airlines Center video boards, the crowd was following Doncic’s progress and erupted in cheers following Lively’s dunk.
Doncic admitted he, too, was aware of his numbers in the half’s closing minutes.
“I was going for the (assist on the) last field goal, and the assist,” he said.
It was the Mavericks’ highest-scoring game this season and two points short of their highest-scoring game ever in regulation.
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