Usually, this is a question reserved for baseball, but we have to ask it about the NBA.
Is the ball juiced?
Maybe that would answer the question of why there are so many ginormous individual scoring games this season. There’s already been more 50-point games, 19, this season than all of last season.
Luka Dončić added to the explosion Monday night when he dropped 53 points on the Detroit Pistons in a 111-105 victory. The Mavericks now are 4-0 whenever their superstar point guard tops 50 points.
It’s been entertaining all season no just with Luka, but throughout the NBA, because you just never know when a star is going to go bonkers and roll up 40, 50 or even 60 or more points.
You kind of figured it was going to be a special night when Dončić had 18 of the Mavericks’ first 20 points and finished the first quarter with 24 of their 30. By the end of three quarters, he had 45 of the Mavericks’ 83.
“When you look at Luka, you couldn’t ask for a better quarter offensively for someone,” coach Jason Kidd said of Luka’s first quarter. “And I think defensively we started to get stops.
“Luka was going. The first half was pretty productive – I think he had only 10 shots and 27 points. When you look at what he was doing offensively, just being able to keep us in the game . . . he’s been very unselfish with the double teams.”
But, of course, it’s always good to know that when Luka sees a weak defensive team, he can attack and take advantage.
Here’s our other thoughts on Monday’s win:
HOORAY, A TIE: If you weren’t aware, the Mavericks got 40 rebounds Monday night. So did the Pistons. Both sides had nine offensive rebounds and 31 defensive boards. This is the first time in 17 games that the Mavericks have not been outrebounded. The last time it happened was against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas when the Mavericks won 124-115. It’s worth noting that the Mavericks are 9-3 when they tie or outrebound their opponents this season. They’ve won their last eight in a row when getting at least a push on the glass. Not that rebounding is important or anything like that.
AWESOME FROM POINT-BLANK RANGE: Dončić was outrageous in just about every area on Monday. He hit 5-of-11 from three-point range, which is superb. But it’s even more impressive that he was 12-of-13 from inside the arc. The guy is remarkable when he’s attacking the rim, posting up or simply fading away for a 14-footer like he did in the final minute to ice the victory (no pun intended). “Somebody told me I was 12-for-13 from two,” he said. “So probably I should have taken more twos than threes. But I think that’s efficient three shooting for me too.”
BANKING WINS: It’s supposed to be like striking out the pitcher or holing the 2-foot gimme. Beating teams in last place is supposed to be a gift from the hoop gods. But it’s been hard for the Mavericks. They lost to the Pistons in December in Detroit. They lost to Houston earlier this season. Those are the cellar-dwellers in the Eastern and Western conferences. But the Mavericks got a measure of revenge on Monday and they ended up 4-2 against those two teams, with both season series done. Those are two losses that they’d love to have back, but that’s not the way sports work. The Mavericks have other games coming against teams that are struggling, including Thursday against the Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve lost eight in a row going into a visit to Denver Tuesday.
Twitter: @ESefko
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