The greatness of Luka Doncic was on full display on Sunday against the Bulls, at least in the first half. In that first half, Doncic was 11/19 with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, marking the second-most points in any half (33 vs. GS, 11/20/19), and he became only the third player (James Harden, Allen Iverson) in the last 20 years to record 30+ points, 7+ rebounds and 5+ assists in the first half. However, Doncic and Mavericks trailed by 15 at the break.
In the second half, it was a much different story for the third-year guard. Doncic was 2/11 and scored only six points, and ultimately, the Mavericks would lose at home 117-101 to Chicago.
Doncic finished the game with 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 15 assists. He is the only player to record a 30-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in the last calendar year and has achieved the feat on four occasions. This was Doncic’s 29th triple-double, which passed Michael Jordan (28) on the all-time triple-doubles list.
“The stats are spectacular, 36 (points)-16 (rebounds)-15 assists,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said about Doncic. “It’s phenomenal. But without a win, he won’t be happy with it either.”
After scoring 30 points in the first half, Doncic felt he played selfishly in the second half.
“That’s on me,” he said. “The second half I played terrible, and I think I was being selfish a little bit because I had 30 points in the first half, and that wasn’t me the second half. I got to do way better than that. That’s just on me. I shouldn’t be doing this…
“I was just taking some shots I shouldn’t be taking. I just got to do way better than this, and as a team, we got to step up, especially defensively, bring the energy. There are no fans in the building, so the energy doesn’t come from the fans now. So, we have to create our own energy and do that and try to win every game.”
The Mavericks were shorthanded against Chicago. They are without Maxi Kleber, Jalen Brunson, Josh Richardson, Dwight Powell, and Dorian Finney-Smith, who were out due to health and safety protocols. In addition, they were missing Tim Hardaway Jr.(Left groin strain).
However, according to Wes Iwundu, who had five points on Sunday, Dallas can’t make any excuses right now.
“We know we’re missing a few guys,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we’re all professionals here. I’m not going to be the one to give out any excuses at the end of the day. We have to go out there and win games. No matter if we have seven guys, four guys, just being sarcastic, but whatever our mindset should be to win games no matter what. It’s a little difficult not having a full team, but it’s just next man up, and you have to carry that mindset.”
Dallas starts a three-game road trip tomorrow as they travel to Tampa to battle the Raptors, and hopefully, they can get some of their guys back at some point during this trip.
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