Luka Doncic’s 79th career triple-double pushed him ahead of some big names in NBA history.
Doncic scored 30 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished out 11 assists for his second consecutive triple-double, helping the Dallas Mavericks win their seventh straight game with a 125-118 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
This triple-double moved Doncic past Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden on the NBA’s all-time list, putting him in seventh place.
Next up for Doncic? Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, who has 107 triple-doubles in his 19-year NBA career.
“I guess I’ve got to sit him,” Kidd joked about Doncic.
But don’t expect that to happen. Doncic will aim for his third straight triple-double when the Mavericks take on the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday.
In the game against the Raptors, Doncic had 15 points, eight assists, and six rebounds by halftime. He hit a 35-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the second quarter and give Dallas a 70-54 lead.
Luka Doncic and Gradey Dick in the 2nd half
Earlier, he made a no-look, over-the-head assist to Kyrie Irving for a 3-pointer in the first quarter.
Doncic reached his triple-double on a defensive rebound with 1:58 left in the third. He had 21 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds in Thursday’s win over Washington.
“That’s an incredible feat for Luka,” Kidd said about Doncic moving past Chamberlain and Harden. “When you talk about his skill set and how he fills up the stat sheet, he’s had two here and could get more. We always expect him to get a triple-double, and sometimes we take it for granted. Right now, you can see he’s starting to get into a groove.”
Doncic impressed Kidd further by making several long assists against Toronto, even from under his own basket.
“It’s just incredible, the ability, the strength to throw it that far,” Kidd said. “He probably could have been a quarterback for the Cowboys.”