Doncic adds another mark with 1st triple-double
Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic goes off for 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assist against the Bucks. (1:08)
MILWAUKEE — Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic became the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double Monday afternoon, collecting 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 116-106 loss to the Bucks.
Doncic and Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz are the only two teenagers in league history to have recorded triple-doubles. Fultz was 19 years, 317 days old; Doncic is 10 days older at 19 years and 327 days.
Doncic is just the third rookie in Mavericks history with a triple-double, joining Dennis Smith Jr. (one last season) and Jason Kidd (done four times in 1994-95)
Despite recording a triple-double, Doncic said he was disappointed with how he played. In the locker room after the game, he explained to reporters that he was disappointed in his shooting. Doncic shot 6-of-17 from the field.
“I played bad for sure,” Doncic said. “I got my triple-double, but I would prefer the win and I didn’t play good at all.”
Doncic, who has emerged as a clear Rookie of the Year favorite, is averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He has started all 44 games he has played in.
Before the game, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer raved about the rookie. “What he has done as an 18- or 19-year-old in Europe is really hard to believe that a guy can do that at his age,” Budenholzer said. “And now doing that through the first 45 games — the poise he plays with, the way he can score, the way he distributes — he keeps delivering. Really, really impressed with what he has done so far.”
Entering Monday’s game, Doncic was shooting 41.6 percent from the field and 33.8 percent on 3s during January, both of which mark monthly low points for the season. His efficiency has slipped, in part, because his usage rate has risen.
“He’s pretty much everything I’d seen,” Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe said. “Hitting big shots, carrying the team. He’s everything I expected.”