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Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were on the road on Christmas Day to face Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns. It was one of the NBA’s highly anticipated games on the said date. Over the past few years, there have been entertaining if not testy battles between the two teams.
On Monday night, the game lived up to the hype. There was a near fight between Booker and Mavericks forward Grant Williams just seconds before the end of the third quarter. And then there was the almost expected Doncic explosion.
The Slovenian erupted for 50 points to drag the Mavericks to a thrilling 128-114 win over the Suns. Fans on Twitter/X promptly reacted to another magical night from “Luka Legend:”
“Luka Doncic is Devin Booker’s DAD.”
Luka Doncic recorded his sixth career 50-point game. He has more such games than every other Maverick player combined. Dirk Nowitzki had two, Jamal Mashburn and Jim Jackson had one each. Dallas is a perfect 6-0 when he hits the half-century mark.
Two of the NBA’s most popular players were out on Monday night. Bradley Beal was on the Suns bench nursing a sprained ankle. Kyrie Irving was in street clothes cheering the Mavs as he is also sidelined with a foot injury.
Still, there were marquee names on the floor most of the time. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker led the Phoenix Suns while the Dallas Mavericks had Luka Doncic. It was expected to be an action-packed game.
While Durant and Booker struggled with their shots, Doncic provided the fireworks. He played a game-high 44 minutes and finished with 50 points, 14 assists, six rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Nobody in NBA history has tallied those lines in one game.
Phoenix Suns tried to take the ball out of Luka Doncic’s hands and failed
With Luka Doncic in sizzling-hot form, the Phoenix Suns desperately tried to take the ball out of his hands. Suns coach Frank Vogel repeatedly used traps to force him to give up the ball. Doncic didn’t hesitate to pass. He trusted his teammates to find a way to give him the ball late in the shot clock.
Vogel tried to use different defenders on Doncic. He started with Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon. Josh Okogie also got his chance. At one point, they even had Kevin Durant on him to give the Mavericks star a different look.
In the end, it didn’t matter. Luka Doncic beat almost every trap the Phoenix Suns tried to use on him. He had the whole repertoire working for him tonight. Doncic scored through fadeaways, Euro steps, stepbacks and bully ball.
The Suns have been on the receiving end of some of the Slovenian’s best performances over the last few years. They will still face him and the Dallas Mavericks twice in the regular season. Each of those dates will be likely circled by basketball fans who will be anticipating another big night from him.
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