In his first game after spraining his ankle last week, Luka Doncic offered a huge 53 that helped the Dallas Mavericks win against the Detroit Pistons 111-105.
The Slovenian sprained his ankle in the first minutes of the Mavericks' game against the Phoenix Suns last Thursday, and for that reason he did not participate in the game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
On his return to the courts, Doncic dazzled with a fabulous 17 of 24 shooting from the field (including 5 of 11 from 3-pointers), 8 rebounds and 5 assists. This is the fourth time that the point guard has reached 50 points this season, in which he already appears as one of the great contenders for the MVP of the regular season.
"The ankle is fine. Obviously not 100 percent yet, but it's fine," Doncic said at the post-game press conference. Despite playing against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, Dallas (27-25) had to work until the end to defeat the Pistons (13-39).
In the match there were also constant clashes between the Slovenian player and the rival bench. "He's been chirping since the beginning. And I answer. I don't want to reproduce his words, and it doesn't bother me. This is basketball, but what is certain is that he gets me going."
However, Dwayne Casey, coach of the Pistons, downplayed what happened. "It was a lot of nothing. We have seen worse things. I trained Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett, so today was zero pique. I liked it and I think it has activated us, and that's the way it should be between competitive guys," he declared. .
The Mavericks will face the Pelicans on Thursday, in crisis after eight straight losses, while the Pistons will face the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, in a streak after six straight victories.
