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Luka Doncic scores 53 points on 24 shots, 'chirps back' at Pistons in Mavericks win

Ho-hum. Another 50-point game.

Jason Owens
Staff writer
·3 min read
105

Luka Doncic returned to the court Monday after a one-game absence with an ankle injury. He seems fine.

The Dallas Mavericks star torched the Detroit Pistons for 53 points in a 111-105 Dallas win. If this sounds commonplace at this point, it's because it kind of is.

The effort was Doncic's fourth 50-plus-point performance of the season and the fifth of his career. He owns more than half of the nine 50-point games in Mavericks history with a tally that isn't likely to slow down anytime soon.

It was also the 19th 50-plus-point game of the current NBA campaign, tying the total for the entirety of last season with more than ⅓ of the league's schedule remaining. It's the second straight day with a 50-point game after Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 on Sunday in a Bucks win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

DALLAS, TX - JANUARY 30: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks gestures after scoring a three-point basket against the Detroit Pistons in the first half at American Airlines Center on January 30, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
Luka Doncic was feeling it on Monday. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Luka needs just 24 shots

So how does Doncic differentiate one masterpiece from the next? Efficiency was the name of the game Monday night. Doncic needed just 24 field-goal attempts to reach the second-highest scoring effort of his career. His career-high arrived one month ago in a remarkable 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a heroic overtime win over the New York Knicks.

On Monday, Doncic finished 17-of-24 (70.8%) from the floor including a 5-of-11 (45.5%) effort from 3-point range. He hit 14 of 18 free throws while adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He hit buckets when it mattered, including scoring 8 of the Mavericks' last 10 points as they put away a close game down the stretch after trailing by 4 at halftime.

His last bucket bounced off the front of the rim and in on a turnaround jumper from the elbow.

It's just not fair for the competition when the rim's that kind.

Doncic 'chirps back' at Pistons bench

Doncic was clearly no worse for wear after an ankle sprain sidelined him early in Thursday's win over the Phoenix Suns and for the entirety of Saturday's loss to the Utah Jazz. He scored 24 of the Mavericks' first 30 points on Monday while picking up some inspiration from the Pistons' bench.

"It was their assistant coach, he started chirping in the first quarter," Doncic said after the game. "They didn't like when I chirp back. They said 'play basketball.'

"If they're gonna chirp at me, I'm gonna chirp back. I ain't scared."

Chirp back he did, up until the game's final moments. Pistons assistant Jerome Allen appeared to be his primary sparring partner.

Detroit head coach Dwane Casey, meanwhile, wasn't bothered in the slightest.

"That's the way it should be. Competitive," Casey told reporters postgame. "I love the way Luka plays and carries himself. ... It was clean, nothing dirty about it."