The Hawks tried everything Friday night against Dallas Mavs star Luka Doncic. They threw multiple defenders at him throughout the game at State Farm Arena, at times prioritizing athleticism with forward Jalen Johnson or physicality with forward Saddiq Bey. But Doncic scored a career-best 73 points and lifted the Mavericks over the Hawks 148–143.
Doncic’s total was the fourth-best in NBA history and surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant. Doncic joined Chamberlain and David Thompson among players who scored 73 points. Chamberlain, who owns the NBA record with 100 points, also had a 78-point game, while Bryant finished with 81 points.
“It feels special to be in that conversation with those names,” Doncic said. “Just excited ... sometimes you just can’t believe it.”
Hawks coach Quin Snyder and guard Trae Young both said the Hawks tried to find anything to get Doncic off his game.
“He was hot, he was going and we were trying everything,” Young said. “Tried to trap him, we started with Jalen on him and then DJ (Dejounte Murray) was switched on him a little bit and then we just tried a lot of things. ... He’s a hell of a player for a reason.”
The Hawks already knew that they would have their hands full with Doncic. The 2024 All-Star starter has given teams fits all season, averaging the second-most points per game in the NBA with 33.6.
Before the game, Snyder detailed how difficult it is to guard Doncic, especially because of the type of player he is.
“He forces you to game plan to the extent that you’re just forced to give things up, and then it’s the question of how well you can execute to make those things harder,” Snyder said. “Whether it’s staying down on shot fakes, not fouling, having a hand up on a contest, not letting him get to his spot, being ready to help but not over-helping.
“He’s going to find people if you try to guard him in a more traditional kind of one-on-one sense. He’s capable of taking a smaller player into the post, stepping out against the bigger player. … That’s a lot of options that you have to consider and try to contend with.”
Snyder’s breakdown was spot on to Doncic’s game, but not good news for the Hawks.
Doncic shot 25-of-33 from the field and 8-of-13 from three. He was able to create space consistently and get creative behind his step-back and turnaround jumper. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Following Doncic’s 18-point first quarter, which included a 7-0 run to start the game, the Hawks began to double team him in the second quarter and eventually triple-team him at times in the second half. Even so, he ended the first half with 41 points, a franchise record.
Doncic surpassed his previous 60-point career high on an off-balanced, contested three a minute into the fourth quarter. He reached 70 points despite being triple-teamed and fouled.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd praised Doncic for his ability to make the right play and find his teammates no matter the defense that the Hawks threw at him.
“Some say there’s a system, he is the game plan,” Kidd said. “His ability to make shots, create shots, find open guys, he did that at a high-level tonight. ... This was a different Luka.”
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