Luka Dončić went off for 50 points and a near triple-double to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-106 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Dončić finished with 50 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and three steals while shooting 17-for-30 from the field and 6-of-12 from 3.
- He was just one point off from his career high of 51 points, which he set on Feb. 10, 2022 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
- Mavericks improve to 17-16 with the win.
Backstory
Dončić sat for just six minutes Friday night, tallying a total of 42 minutes. The Rockets once trailed by 16 points, but by 8:30 in the fourth quarter, they had a one-point lead over Dallas. The three-time All-Star scored 18 points in the fourth alone to lead the Mavericks to one win above .500. Dallas will host the the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas.
How did he get his 50?
Dončić honestly did it easily — his usual moves, his usual drives, all adding up enough times to reach the 50-point plateau for the second time in his career. He capped it with a catch-and-shoot 3 that served as a dagger, one of his six triples on the night.
He leads the league in 40-point games (six) and often makes his scoring seem as effortless as this game was. He dazzles with his passing and fakes, but make no mistake: Dončić is one of best and most ruthless scorers in the league. — Cato
What this says about the Mavericks
I mean, it’s very much a matter of perspective. The optimistic view is that the Mavericks were missing several key role players and the Rockets played well. The pessimistic one is that the Mavericks blew a double digit halftime lead when it looked like Dončić might not even need to play down the stretch.
With the Mavericks needing this win to over .500 again, there’s a lot of reasonable pessimism around the team. But hey, sometimes when Dončić plays for your team, you just want him to go get you 50 and a win. He’s that good, and he did just that on Friday. — Cato
(Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today)
