Somehow Luka Doncic managed to put up a triple-double and score 29 points in the first half of a 147-97 evisceration of the Utah Jazz. Nobody had ever scored 25+ and had a triple-double in a half since play-by-play started tracking such things almost three decades ago.
From then on, Luka and the Dallas Mavericks were on cruise control, yet still outscored the Jazz 73-46 in the second half. The final stat line for Luka wound up only being 40-10-11. Imagine if he’d really kept the pedal to the metal. Oh well. Whatever fireworks were lacking from him after the midway intermission were made up for immediately after the game:
LOL. Luka dropped an awesome F-bomb following the Mavs’ opening night victory to praise Dereck Lively II’s NBA debut. He continues to be his unapologetic, unfiltered self, which is all you can ask for from a professional athlete these days.
I love, too, how the Bally Sports reporter couldn’t be much less bothered by Luka’s profane slip-up. The guy is so damn good at basketball that this comes across as endearing, instead of drawing a reaction like:
Additionally, I see folks trying to caption on-court interactions between NBA players nowadays. It’s the in-vogue thing to do on formerly Twitter/X. So I don’t know if the dialogue exchanged between Luka and alleged lockdown perimeter defender Jazz guard Kris Dunn is for real, but it’s also very funny:
Right at the end of this video compilation, you can find Utah head coach Will Hardy talking about how the Jazz’s showing was a “masterpiece of dogsh*t”. Follow the link for my article on that one, along with more of Hardy’s phenomenal postgame sound. Hardy knew his team was outmatched and shorthanded, but Luka is a mismatch for literally any opponent when he’s 100% on, regardless of who’s attempting to guard him.
It’s crazy that Luka keeps finding ways to improve every single season. He’s got to be in the best shape he’s ever been in, and I reckon that’s a big part of why he’s shooting 3-pointers with such superior efficiency. He’s a 34.2% shooter from beyond the arc for this career, yet in 19 games this season, Luka has spiked up to 39.5% on ten attempts per game. SHEESH.
Unless I missed it, pretty sure Luka didn’t wear a headband before last night. Are we seeing the inverse of No-Headband LeBron on the horizon!?
(This is for all the LeBron haters who insist his legacy was saved by that famous Ray Allen shot. Folks conveniently forget the myriad of plays LeBron pulled off just to keep the Heat’s NBA Finals hopes alive against a loaded Spurs squad.)
