Dončić sets new Slovenian NBA record for points at 42
Dallas, 19 November - Slovenian basketball star Luka Dončić continues to break new ground in the NBA, having set a new Slovenian record in points scored. The 20-year-old passed Goran Dragić (40) on Monday evening by scoring 42 points in a win of his Dallas Mavericks against the Texas rival San Antonio Spurs.
Miami, FL, US
An estimated two thousand Slovenian fans flocked to Miami to see Slovenian NBA stars Luka Dončić (right) and Goran Dragić (right) square off.
Photo: Slavko Baranja/STA
In the 117:110 win for the Mavericks, Dončić also added 12 assists and 11 rebounds for what is already his sixth triple-double early in the new season.
Playing in his second year in the best basketball league in the world, the Slovenian became the second-youngest NBA player with a 40-point triple-double, trailing only LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dončić and James are the only players in the history of the league to manage the feat before turning 21.
By scoring 42 points, Dončić set a new Slovenian record for points, overtaking Goran Dragić and his career-high 40 points scored in February 2014, when he played for the Phoenix Suns.
Speaking to a reporter after the match, Dončić said that the "match was special, it's a rivalry", referring to the San Antonio Spurs, adding that "we always want to win every such game."
He said he had a dream during a pre-game nap that he would score 16 points in the first quarter. "And then I scored 17, so dreams don't come true," he said jokingly, while giving his teammates the credit for the win.
ESPN meanwhile quoted Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle as saying that "this guy can do anything he wants to on a basketball court. He's having one of those magical runs right now. It's a phenomenal thing to watch."
Dončić is actually almost averaging a triple-double in the first 12 games of the season, recording 28.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game, for a player efficiency rating (PER) of 30.05, in which he is 4th in the league.