LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Dallas star Luka Doncic rewrote the NBA record book on Tuesday with a stunning 60-point triple-double, carrying the Mavericks to a wild 126-121 overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
Doncic added 21 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history with a triple-double featuring at least 60 points and 20 rebounds.
He’s just the second player, after James Harden, to score 60 points in a triple-double, with Harden scoring 60 points with 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a game for Houston in 2018.
“He’s special,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Slovenian star Doncic, who also had two steals and a blocked shot in the contest.
“For a player to do something that’s never been done before — it’s hard to do,” Kidd said. “There’s been some great players before him.”
Doncic posted his career-high in rebounds and notched his seventh triple-double of the season to help Dallas rally for the win.
The Knicks, led by 33 points from Quentin Grimes, were up by nine with 33.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but Dallas out-scored them 12-3 to close the period.
“I think it was just kind of lucky,” the 23-year-old said. “I just threw it up.”
Doncic scored seven of the Mavericks’ 11 points in overtime as they sealed the win, and departed the court to a massive ovation from the Dallas crowd.
“I’m tired as hell,” Doncic said as he was corralled for an on-court television interview. “I need a recovery beer.”
– Wizards hold off 76ers –
Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards withstood a 48-point performance from Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid to halt the 76ers’ eight-game winning streak with a 116-111 triumph.
The Boston Celtics shook off a slow start to rout the Houston Rockets 126-102, pushing their league-best record to 25-10 with a third straight win.
Meanwhile, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a four-game skid with a convincing 129-110 victory over the Magic in Orlando.
In Washington, Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who led the Sixers by as many as 16 in the third quarter.
They were up by 11 early in the fourth, but the Sixers slashed the deficit to one on Embiid’s alley-oop dunk with 2:59 to play.
Porzingis responded with a three-pointer, and the Sixers wouldn’t get the gap below three points the rest of the way.
Bradley Beal added 19 points for Washington before he left the game late in the fourth, appearing to hurt himself in a collision with Embiid.
In Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 39 points and Jayson Tatum added 38 to lead the Celtics, who were also buoyed by 11 points and 15 rebounds from Robert Williams.
The Lakers, who had lost four straight since star Anthony Davis was sidelined with a foot injury, got a much needed win in Orlando.
James scored 28 points, Thomas Bryant added 21 and Russell Westbrook delivered a triple-double of 15 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
“You can’t replace Anthony Davis, we know that,” Westbrook said in an on-court post-game interview. “As a team collectively we have to make sure we come together, play the right way and try to get some wins — try to hold it down until he comes back.”
The Phoenix Suns sprung a surprise in Memphis, beating the Grizzlies 125-108.
