Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had a night to remember Friday, lighting up State Farm Arena for a career-high 73 points in a 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
It’s the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, surpassing the 70-point night by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs, and tied Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson for the fourth-highest-scoring game in NBA history. Chamberlain, who owns the NBA record with 100 points, also had a 78-point game, while Kobe Bryant finished with 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006.
Friday night marked just the 15th 70-point game in NBA history, and Doncic is the 10th player ever to reach the plateau.
A three-point play with 2:58 remaining gave Doncic 70 points. With Dallas leading 140-136, Doncic added another three-point play to cap his night.
Doncic said the performance ranked “probably at the top” in his career but added that he was just focused on getting the win.
“We’ve been struggling lately,” he said of the Mavs, who had lost three straight before Friday. “Mindset was [to] get a win. We played great.”
Doncic’s epic night included 41 points at halftime, which broke Dirk Nowitzki’s franchise record for points in a half. He reached 57 by the end of the third quarter, then opened the fourth with eight straight points before finishing with 73.
Doncic scored 23 points in the second quarter after opening with 18 points in the first.
He finished 25-of-33 from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range, and 15-of-16 from the free throw line. He added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Doncic’s previous career high was 60 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
