Doncic gets game ball, puts his name among the NBA greats

ATLANTA – In retrospect, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic appeared as though he was on a mission Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.

If so, mission accomplished.

Not only did Doncic blast out of the gate by scoring 18 points in the first quarter during the 148-143 victory over the Hawks. He also fired in 23 points in the second quarter, added 16 more in the third quarter, and topped it off with another 16 points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with a whopping 73 points that set the NBA world on fire.

For historical purposes, the 73 points ties Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson for the fourth-most points ever scored in the history of the NBA. Chamberlain – he also once popped in the record 100 points in a game – Kobe Bryant (81 points) and Chamberlain (78 points) are the only players who have scored more points than the 73 points Doncic had.

In essence, there probably aren’t enough letters on a keyboard to properly describe how Doncic was able to systematically shred the Hawks minute by minute, piece by piece, quarter by quarter.

By halftime, when Doncic already had 41 points on 16-of-21 field goals – including 5-of-8 three-pointers – that’s when he realized Friday could indeed be a memorable night for him personally.

“It was special for sure,” Doncic said. “You never really know. Sometimes you feel great, sometimes you don’t.”

Bryant (18 field goals in the second half against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006) and Brandon Jennings (17 field goals against Golden State on Nov. 14, 2009) and Doncic are the only players since the 1997-’98 season to convert at least field goals in any half of a game.

“He was in a zone, when you talk about Luka,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “He got off to a really good start. I think he was letting everybody know we’re alright.

“I thought he had an incredible performance. He played (45) minutes. We tried to get him some rest during the game.”

On Thursday night, Doncic visited the TNT set and was on the air after he was voted to start in his fourth straight All-Star game. Kidd joked that: “Maybe going to see (TNT’s Charles Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and those guys and (Shaquille O’Neal) got him inspired (Thursday) night. So, maybe we should see them a little bit more often.”

Whatever the case may be, guard Josh Green said of Doncic, “He came out strong. He came out with energy that helped our whole team. We had two big games with the (Phoenix) Suns and Boston Celtics (earlier this past week), so guys are tired. The fact that Luka came out and he was the energy guy to start the game, it helped everybody out, and I think that’s huge for us.”

Here are the three takeaways from the Mavs’ five-point win over the Hawks.

LUKA DID A TON OF LUKA THINGS: By shattering records and putting his name amongst the NBA’s all-time greats, Luka Doncic set a new Mavs record for the most points in a half. The old record of 34 points Dirk Nowitzki scored in the second half against Utah on Nov. 3, 2009 has now been replaced with the new record of 41 points Doncic tallied in the first half on Friday.

GREEN’S PRODUCTION NOT OVERLOOKED: What Josh Green accomplished against the Hawks can’t be overlooked, because he played a significant role in helping the Mavs collect this win. In all, Green played 35 minutes, scored 21 points and was an efficient 8-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line. It also includes Green’s game-clinching three-pointer which put the Mavs ahead, 146-138, with just 36.7 seconds remaining in the game.

MAVS WERE ON FIRE: With his incredible stat line of 25-of-33 field goals – including 8-of-13 shots from three-point range, Luka Doncic was indeed on fire. But the other Mavs not named Luka Doncic also performed well against the Hawks. Not counting Doncic, the other Mavs were 26-of-52 from the floor, and 11-of-24 from the three-point line. Overall, the Mavs shot 60 percent from the field (51-of-85) and 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from downtown.

X: @DwainPrice