Things are going so well for Luka Dončić that he even outdid Santa Claus.
As his teammates retreated to their locker room after clubbing the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night, they arrived in the plush surroundings to find dozens of electric bicycles lined up.
The pricy bikes were a gift from Dončić to the team, coaches, support staff.
“Everybody,” as Tim Hardaway Jr. said.
As if dishing out 10 assists as part of his triple-double in the 144-119 win over the Spurs wasn’t enough, he couldn’t stop giving even after the game.
It’s what superstars do. The early Christmas presents were a monumental gesture by Dončić.
Now, it’s on to the real Christmas, which the Mavericks will celebrate in Phoenix against the Suns in the last of five NBA games showcased for the enjoyment of fans on the holiday.
Luka will begin the 9:30 p.m. game needing 11 points to reach 10,000 for his NBA career.
That would get him to the milestone in 358 games, tying him for seventh-fastest of all time.
The list: Wilt Chamberlain, 236 games; Michael Jordan, 303; Elgin Baylor, 315; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 319; Oscar Robertson, 334; George Gervin, 355; Bob McAdoo, 358; Rick Barry, 360; LeBron James, 368.
Coach Jason Kidd has seen most of Luka’s 10K points and nodded to the Slovenian’s past for putting him in this position.
“When you’re 12, 13, 14 and you go to a different country (Real Madrid, in Spain) to understand how to play the game,” Kidd said. “They taught him the game at a high level. His dad played the game. I think it’s just in the blood, the DNA, of knowing how to play at a very, very high level.
“Luka, he’s in the 1 percent of basketball players – Giannis, Embiid, Joker – those are the names mentioned with him. I think it’s just the fundamentals of his talent, his build, his speed which makes him special.”
And it should be a very special Christmas night.
Here’s what else to keep an eye on when the Mavericks meet the Suns:
- Playing on Christmas is a gift for NBA teams. It’s usually reserved for teams or stars that fans like seeing. But this will be the third time the Mavericks have played on the road on Christmas during the Luka era. It’s not easy on the players’ personal lives. “They are human, they do have families,” coach Jason Kidd said. “There are a lot of distractions this time of year. So you try to do your best to celebrate Christmas maybe a little earlier than some. But that’s just the nature of this business. Once the train leaves in September, it doesn’t stop for anybody until February for the All-Star break. And you got to get used to it. If you do it long enough, you become creative of how to celebrate different holidays.” This will be the second time the Mavericks have had, as Kidd calls it, “the midnight game” on Christmas. They also played the last of the five games on Christmas at Utah last year. “But the Christmas game is special for a lot of us because the past players, being a kid, watching the games on Christmas, opening your gifts, you dreamed about playing on Christmas, so that’s something special that’s always going to be there for these guys who do get the opportunity to play on Christmas,” Kidd said. “Really, it’s just another day. We don’t get holidays in this profession.”
- The Mavericks will be trying to generate some momentum as one of the most challenging stretches of the schedule begins. After the trip to Phoenix, they return home Wednesday against a formidable Cleveland team, then start a difficult three-game trip with a back-to-back Thursday night at Minnesota, which only has the best record in the Western Conference.
- In the past nine games since he missed a couple with back problems, Tim Hardaway Jr. has averaged 19.1 points. In the same span, Dante Exum has averaged 16.6 points as he has stepped into a larger role and earned the right to keep it.
- The Mavericks have been getting good mileage out of A.J. Lawson, one of their two-way players, who had 17 points in the win over the Spurs.
- The Suns are coming off a 120-105 loss at Sacramento in which they allowed the Kings to shoot 53 percent from the field. Four of the five Sacramento starters scored at least 19 points, led by a triple-double by Domantas Sabonis.
- Phoenix has fought injuries, particularly to Bradley Beal, who has fought a sprained ankle and is out until at least after the new year. Also, center Jusuf Nurkic missed Friday’s game because of personal reasons.
- The Suns have gone 3-8 in their last 11 games and would miss the postseason if the season ended today.
MAVERICKS (17-12) at PHOENIX SUNS (14-14)
When/where: 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Footprint Center, Phoenix.
TV: ESPN.
Radio: 97.1 FM The Freak; 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish).
X: @ESefko
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