The Slovenian Luka Doncic achieved the eighth 40-point triple double of his career this Saturday and surpassed a mark set by Wilt Chamberlain, in an NBA day in which the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a great victory against the Indiana Pacers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who knocked down the Nuggets in Denver, hit the table and showed that they mean business. “It's everyone, it's not just me. “All my teammates helped me achieve it,” the Mavericks player modestly stated.
It is Doncic's fifth triple-double this season as he scored 40 points (22 of them in the first quarter), twelve rebounds and ten assists in the Mavericks' 131-120 victory at the Blazers' field.
Doncic, 24, now has 61 triple doubles in his five-year NBA career. He scored fifteen of his 28 shots and made four three-pointers and already had thirty points at halftime, after an amazing first period in which he scored 22 of his team's 36 points.
He also highlighted the performance of Keegan Murray, who scored 47 points and twelve triples in the Sacramento Kings' 125-104 victory over the Jazz. Murray connected on twelve of fifteen three-pointers, eleven of them consecutively, a record in NBA history. The previous record, eleven, had been achieved by Buddy Hield. “It kind of reminded me of my last year in college," Murray said. "I'd get hot and black out for a moment, and everything would come in. "That's pretty much what happened in the third quarter."
For Kings coach Mike Brown, this is just the beginning for the promising NBA talent: “He's just scratching the surface because he's been asked to do something he's never been asked to do at the highest level. With his work ethic, his determination, his skill set and all that, he's had the opportunity to be a high-level player in a lot of different areas. “Everyone is seeing a little bit of it now, so there’s a lot of room to grow for sure.”
