Five games, 228 points: Doncic demolishes records with insane run — NBA Wrap

Before going through the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich promised with amusing that his group would maintain Luka Doncic to below 50 factors.

“50 is going to be our goal. We’re holding Luka under 50,” he stated.

They virtually did – with Doncic caught on 49 factors till a pair free throws with 4.5 seconds to play took him to 51 factors as Dallas escaped with a 126-125 win.

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Doncic added 9 assists, six rebounds and 4 steals in one other huge efficiency, his third 50-point effort within the final 5 video games (over simply eight days) and the fourth of his profession.

Doncic stated he had heard Popovich’s feedback: “Yeah, I saw. I just wanted to get a win.”

But whereas he stated it wasn’t concerning the private milestone, he wasn’t complaining about cracking 50 factors and proving Popovich mistaken: “Yeah, of course. It’s not bad.”

The 23-year-old has now had 23 video games scoring 40-plus factors, essentially the most in Mavericks historical past.

Doncic sealed the sport by intentionally lacking a free throw on the demise, regaining the ball to see out the clock.

Christian Wood praised his teammate, saying: “It’s incredible, since my seven years in the league … I’ve never seen anybody do what he is able to do.”

The large downside for the Mavericks is that they’ve wanted Doncic to ship unbelievable performances repeatedly to get previous struggling groups.

Today, it was the Spurs, a bottom-two group within the West – and the Mavericks had led by as many as 17 factors.

Coach Jason Kidd declared: “We’ve got to get healthy here soon. We’re asking too much of Luka.”

Christian Wood had 25 factors and 7 rebounds, whereas Tim Hardaway Jr had 14 factors and Spencer Dinwiddie 11 factors. But Doncic was pressured as soon as once more to shoulder a heavy burden.

Doncic has repeatedly spoken of his tiredness after each sport, at this time declaring “I’m exhausted,” after the win, and final week saying “I’m tired as hell” after a 60-point triple double in an time beyond regulation victory over the struggling Knicks.

Dallas are actually 21-16 after successful six on the trot, whereas the Spurs slipped to 12-24.

Keldon Johnson had 30 factors to guide the Spurs, whereas Jeremy Sochan had 20 factors and Jakob Poeltl 19 factors and 14 rebounds.

NETS MAKE TITLE STATEMENT

The Nets closed out 2022 with the longest successful streak within the NBA.

And they rung in 2023 with the look of a reputable title contender — primarily as a result of they’re specializing in at this time and never getting distracted by tomorrow.

The Nets cruised to a 123-106 victory over the Hornets on Saturday evening at Spectrum Center. The victory ended a three-game, all-business journey. They dispatched the Hornets and headed straight to the airport, getting within the air roughly as New Year’s Eve ended.

“Really, my message to the group before the game is let’s finish the year off in the right way. And that’s taking care of [this] game,” coach Jacque Vaughn stated. “I’ll turn the page once we get to 2023 and fill you in on what the [New Year’s] resolution is going to be, but it’s really keeping this group in the now, playing today’s game, and let’s just win today’s game.”

That’s how the Nets (24-12) prolonged their successful streak to 11 straight, tying the longest of any NBA group because the Suns ran off 18 in a row from Oct. 30-Dec. 2, 2021. It pulled them inside two video games of the Celtics, the one group within the league with a greater document.

Six Nets scored in double figures as they shot 60 per cent as a group. Either Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving had led them in scoring in all however one sport this season, and Saturday was no exception. Irving had a game-high 28 factors and Durant posted 23, as all the time the fulcrum of the Nets’ success.

“Durant and Irving,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford stated beforehand. “They’ve got a bunch of skilled veteran guys around them, so they play very smart; but it all starts with those two guys. And you can’t guard either one of them without a second defender, which is what NBA basketball is all about: Creating two to the ball. They’re a super high iso team. They play one-on-one a lot. They’re great at it.

“Kyrie pick-and-rolls, you double team him, he crushes it. So even though it sounds like that’d be a smart thing to do, he’s actually more efficient against double teams in many ways than he is when you play traditional coverages. And then they have really good players around them, veteran guys, high IQ, and they’re playing with great purpose. So you’ve got to do it all.

“You can’t let them score fast-break points, you can’t put them at the free throw line, you can’t let them get second shots, and they can’t be scoring cutting baskets. Because they’re so good at everything else, when they get those then it’s over. So there’s nothing they’re not good at. They’re good at every level. There’s no other team in the league right now offensively near what they’re doing.”

Clifford is aware of of what he speaks. He spent final season as a Nets guide and now has a rebuilding job on his fingers with the Hornets (10-27).

LaMelo Ball had 23 factors, 11 assists and 7 rebounds for Charlotte. But with Kelly Oubre Jr. out, the Nets held the Hornets to 39.6 per cent capturing. Durant and Royce O’Neale smothered Gordon Hayward to 2 factors on 1-for-6 capturing from the ground.

“Really [it’s about] where our focus and concentration level is, not looking ahead at all and taking advantage of what’s in front of you — and that’s [this] game,” Vaughn stated. “So really looking forward to how our group approaches this game and how we start the first quarter, start the beginning of the game.”

The Nets had the appropriate strategy from the beginning. Irving discovered O’Neale for a 3-pointer and an 11-4 lead proper out of the gate. The Nets had been up, 32-22, after a primary quarter by which they shot 65.2 per cent and held Charlotte to 34.8 per cent.

Nic Claxton had 14 factors, six boards, and tied a career-high with six blocks. He scored off a Durant feed to make it 57-42 with 1:30 left within the half, and his layup 54 seconds into the third quarter padded the benefit to 66-49.

The second of consecutive Yuta Watanabe left-corner 3-pointers gave the Nets a 97-79 cushion after three. It grew to 118-96 on an Irving 3 with 4 minutes left, and the Nets cruised to their fifteenth win in 16 video games.

— Via NY Post