Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic added another impressive performance and another historic feat to his NBA career.
Recording the 39th triple-double of his young career, the 22-year-old prodigy has now surpassed Oscar Robertson (38) to hold the NBA record for the most triple-doubles by a player 23-years-old or younger.
Doncic registered 22 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds to lead the Mavericks to a 113-99 victory over the in-form Chicago Bulls, who had won nine games in a row prior to Sunday.
Dallas grabbed its sixth straight to win to improve to 22-18. Doncic’s heroics were the biggest reason for Dallas’ victory against the top team in the East.
Entering this season, Doncic was highly favored to win the MVP honors. However, injuries and bad conditioning led him to miss some games, despite averaging solid numbers.
Despite adversity due to injuries and COVID, the Mavs are fifth in the tough Western Conference, achieving convicing victories over Golden State and Chicago in the last few games.
“We just realized we can be a good team still. We beat Golden State [and] Chicago, which they’re the top two teams. We can play with everybody. When we play together, we play good. … We’re playing great defense,” Doncic told reporters after the win over Chicago.
Doncic has played in the last four games for Dallas averaging almost a triple-double (20/9.5/ 11). His scoring numbers and his shooting percentages are the worst in his career, but he’s finding ways to help his team, averaging 24.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.0 assists through 25 games.
“It’s amazing,” Doncic said on the Mavericks’ six-game winning streak. “I think the whole team is playing together. We’re playing great defense. I think the most important part is we’re just having fun out there.”
The Mavericks are looking forward to a short two-game road trip, where Doncic and co. will face New York and Memphis, before returning home for a 5-game skid in Dallas.
