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Luka Dončić played himself into a frenzy
Photo: Mike Stewart / dpa
Luka Dončić led the Dallas Mavericks to a 148:143 (66:66) away win over the Atlanta Hawks with a gala performance of 73 points. 73 points in a game is the fourth highest score in league history. Only Wilt Chamberlain (100 points), Kobe Bryant (81) and once again Chamberlain (78) were better.
Chamberlain holds the record; on March 2, 1962, the legendary center scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors (now Golden State Warriors) against the New York Knicks. The closest is Bryant (81 points on January 22, 2006). Just this week, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid scored 70 points in a game.
Dončić also collected ten rebounds and provided seven assists. He hit 25 of his 33 shots from the field, including eight three-pointers. The Slovenian was almost flawless from the free throw line (15 out of 16). »These names that stand in front of me are special. It's unbelievable," said Dončić, who was named to the starting lineup of the All-Star Game a day earlier.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Dallas teammate Josh Green. When asked whether Dončić had disrupted the game plan with his many shots, head coach Jason Kidd simply said: "He is the game plan." Kidd joked that Dončić was probably annoyed in the dressing room because of the three missing assists. Then the Mavericks star would have recorded a so-called triple-double (double-digit values in three statistical categories). With 25 wins and 20 defeats, the Mavericks have to fight for a place in the playoffs.
Schröder succumbs to Theis - Wagner brothers also winless
Meanwhile, Daniel Theis won the duel between two world champions against Dennis Schröder. Theis celebrated a 127:107 (66:52) win over the Toronto Raptors with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers achieved their fourth win in a row and maintained third place in the Western Conference.
The best player of the game was James Harden, who recorded a triple-double with 22 points, ten rebounds and 13 assists. Theis had six points and four rebounds, while Schröder recorded 13 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Raptors. Toronto suffered its fourth consecutive defeat and is only in twelfth place in the East.
Franz and Moritz Wagner and the Orlando Magic had to admit defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies 106:107 (59:68). The guests could have won the game in the final second, but missed their three-pointer. Franz Wagner had previously brought the Magic to 106:107. The 22-year-old scored a total of 18 points, his brother Moritz scored twelve points. Nevertheless, in the end there was the second defeat in a row and the fourth out of the last five games.
Devin Booker provided the second point gala on Friday. The 27-year-old scored 62 points against the Indiana Pacers, but lost with the Phoenix Suns 131:133 (70:80). Booker, who has already broken the 70-point mark in his NBA career, missed the three-pointer in the final second to win.
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