Luka Doncic’s triple-double leads Dallas Mavericks over Golden State Warriors in record NBA duel

SAN FRANCISCO – Luka Doncic reeled off a triple-double with 45 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds to spark the Dallas Mavericks to a 143-133 win over the Golden State Warriors in a record-shattering National Basketball Association (NBA) clash on Dec 15.

The Mavericks and Warriors combined for an NBA single-game record of 48 treys, breaking the old mark by four, with Golden State sinking 27 of 54 shots from beyond the arc and Dallas hitting 21 of 41 three-point attempts at Chase Centre.

“No team could miss. They had 18 threes at half-time and we were still up, which is insane. Felt like nobody could miss. It was a fun game. Lot of makes. But it was a physical game too,” Doncic said.

Doncic made 16 of 23 shots from the floor, including six of 11 three-pointers, and added three steals and two blocked shots to his ninth career 40-point triple-double.

“The guy never ceases to amaze me. He never rushes, plays at his own pace. Had 45 points easy as pie he made it look like,” said teammate Klay Thompson.

It was the three-point sharpshooting that made the contest historic, crushing the old mark for combined three-pointers in an NBA game of 44 set in February 2023 by the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers, and matched two nights ago by the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz.

The Mavericks, who won for the eighth time in nine games, and Warriors combined for a one-half NBA record of 30 three-pointers in the first half, which ended with Dallas ahead 81-74.

Dallas made 12 of 25 from three-point range in the first two quarters, while the Warriors matched another NBA record with 18 three-pointers in a half, making them on 32 attempts.

That set the stage for former Warrior Thompson to sink the record-breaking 45th combined three-pointer with 4:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, off an assist from Doncic.

“I’ve had a great history of shooting the ball well here, so I try to tap into that every time I come back,” he said.

Thompson had a season-high 29 points, 12 in the last quarter, and sank nine of 14 shots from the floor and seven of 11 from three-point range against a club with whom he won four NBA titles.

“Legendary stuff. Now it’s time to do some legendary stuff in Dallas. I truly believe in this team. We have all the ingredients to do something special,” he said.

His former Splash Brother Stephen Curry had 26 points and 10 assists for Golden State, while Draymond Green had season highs of five threes and 21 points.

The NBA record for three-pointers by one team in a game is 29, set by the Milwaukee Bucks in December 2020 and matched by the Boston Celtics two months ago.

It was not a flurry of treys for the Celtics at Capital One Arena, but Jayson Tatum did score 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the reigning NBA champions to a 112-98 win over league-worst Washington Wizards on Dec 15.

However, an injury to Kristaps Porzingis dimmed the joy of a road victory. The Latvian centre, who missed the first month of the season following left-ankle surgery, played only 11 minutes before leaving with right-heel pain in the second quarter.

Porzingis has played in only seven games this season, averaging 20.3 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Payton Pritchard added 15 points on five three-pointers, and Derrick White also had 15 points for Boston. Jordan Poole led Washington with 21 points, and Bilal Coulibaly added 19.

The Wizards fell to 3-21, while Boston improved to 21-5, which is the second best after Cleveland (22-4) in the NBA. AFP