During his first two seasons in the league, the Slovenian has become accustomed to breaking records on an almost weekly basis, such is his excellency on the court.
And on Monday night, he etched his name amongst the game’s greatest players once again, becoming the fourth fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists.
After a slow start to the 2020-21 season which Doncic puts down to his conditioning, the 21-year-old put in his most dominant performance so far in the Mavs’ 113-100 victory over James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
Doncic, who missed the previous game due to a quadriceps contusion, finished with season highs of 33 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, recording his first triple-double of the season.
“It’s pretty clear now that he’s working his way back to where he needs to be. All his physical and conditioning indicators are really going in a good, strong direction. And you can tell on the floor. You can see that he’s getting better and better as each day goes by.”
Doncic’s triple-double was the 26th of his short career. It’s the third time the 21-year-old has had 30-plus points, 15-plus rebounds and 10-plus assists in a game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, all other players in NBA history have combined for two such games before the age of 22.
He outplayed 2018 MVP Harden, who finished with 21 points and 10 assists, as he works his way back to full fitness.
Showing his worth
And the Greek superstar showed once again on Monday why the Bucks offered him the five-year, $228.2 million supermax contract extension.
Antetokounmpo tallied 43 points as the Bucks downed the Detroit Pistons 125-115 to go over .500 for the first time this season.
The “Greek Freak” scored 30 points by halftime and his dunk with just two minutes remaining sealed the Bucks’ second straight victory by giving Milwaukee a 10-point lead. Afterwards, Antetokounmpo praised the developing chemistry of the team.
Staying hot
But despite not stuffing the stat sheet like he did the night before, Curry remained in red-hot form nonetheless, pouring in another 30 points in the Golden State Warriors’ 137-106 romp over the Sacramento Kings.
The victory was the Warriors’ fourth win in their last five outings to improve their record to 4-3, with the return of superstar Draymond Green playing an important role in their return to form.
After going to five straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2019 and winning three championships, Green believes there is a “long way to go” before they can think about competing at that stage again.
“Are we ready to compete with those teams? I don’t know. But we will compete, and that’s the thing.”
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