Mavericks star Luka Doncic drops career-high 51 points in win over Clippers

Mark Cuban’s last-minute trade maneuvers on Thursday clearly didn’t shake Luka Doncic’s confidence.

It seems to have done just the opposite.

The Dallas Mavericks star went off for a career-high 51 points on Thursday night in their 112-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He shot 17-of-26 from the field and made seven shots from behind the arc — all of which came in the first quarter.

“I’m tired as hell right now,” Doncic said on Ballys Sports Southwest. “I’ve got to get some recovery.”

Doncic drops 28, matches Clippers in first quarter

Doncic could not be stopped in the opening minutes of the game on Thursday night.

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Doncic put up 28 points in the first quarter of the win at the American Airlines Center and made seven 3-pointers in the opening 12 minutes. He went 10-of-13 from the field in the period, too, while leading Dallas to an early eight-point lead.

The Clippers had just 28 points as a team in the first quarter.

Doncic’s scoring slowed down in the second, and he entered halftime with 32 points — which was the highest first-half scoring output of any NBA player so far this season. It marked his third career half with 30 or more points, the most in team history.

Meanwhile, with Doncic cruising, the Mavericks pushed out to a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter.

That, however, didn’t last. The Clippers quickly put themselves right back into contention with an 8-2 burst to close out the third quarter. They then cut the game to just a single possession in the fourth, and threatened to take their first lead of the contest.

Doncic and the Mavericks, though, quickly pushed back in front with a 7-0 run of their own and then held on to take the seven-point win. While he made just a single field goal in the fourth quarter, Doncic hit six free throws in the period to push him over the 50-point mark.

Doncic nearly had a triple-double to go with his career-high, as he finished with nine rebounds and six assists. Dorian Finney-Smith — who reached a four-year extension with the team earlier in the day — added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Marcus Morris led the Clippers with 21 points while shooting 9-of-16 from the field, and Norman Powell added 19 points. Reggie Jackson finished with 18 points while shooting 7-of-14 from the field. The Clippers have now lost five of their last seven.