He is only 24 years old, but he already surpasses the best players in history in the NBA books. This Wednesday, Luka Doncic became the first basketball player in the North American league to record the triple double with the highest score at halftime, the 60th of his career, taking ninth place from Larry Bird in the historical classification of this statistical achievement.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the first half against the Utah Jazz with 58.8% shooting success and 60% shooting from 3-point range (six of ten). The guard finished the game with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, on a night in which the Dallas Mavericks achieved a brilliant victory in Texas (147-97).
The former Madrid player only played 12 minutes in the third quarter, given that the game was already decided in favor of the Mavericks. The duel against one of the worst teams in the competition was also taken advantage of by Kyrie Irving. The point guard from Jason Kidd's team scored 26 points in Dallas' victory, his best score so far this season, in addition to four assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes.
On the part of the Utah Jazz, the most notable performance was Ochai Agbaji and his 21 points. Last morning, Will Hardy's men suffered their second worst defeat, after the one they suffered against the Bucks in 1979 with a difference of 56 points against (158-102). In Utah, they have seen their team lose seven of their last ten games.
Luka Doncic set a historic NBA record this Thursday, but Joel Embiid also came close to doing the same in his game with the Philadelphia 76ers against the Wizards (126-131). The Cameroonian center was nine points shy of the best scoring record of his career, achieved in November 2022 against the Utah Jazz (59). All in all, Embiid had 50 points and 13 rebounds that earned Nick Nurse's team a victory on the road.
Likewise, the Clippers' loss to the Nuggets (111-102), despite Nikola Jokic making his ninth triple of the course and the worst shooting record in his career (nine of 32 in shots), was one of the highlights of the previous night. Also the victory of the Warriors against the Portland Trail Blazers with 31 points from Stephen Curry (110-106), after the Angelenos started the season with a 6-2 record.
