NBA Scores: Luka is beyond words unbelievable right now but we have some anyway
Luka #Luka
What a night for the NBA. Not only did your boy win a whopping $11.26 on an unthinkably risky parlay — unless you think taking the over on Julius Randle’s rebounds is a lock, for some reason — but the games weren’t half-bad either. Let’s dive into Tuesday’s slate, one by one.
Luka makes history as Mavs top Knicks in OT, 126-121
Much like it often tends to be, this is Luka Doncic’s world, and we just happen to be living in it. In Dallas’ fourth-straight win, Doncic recorded his fourth triple-double of the season, and easily his most historic to date. He scored a career-high 60 points, pulled down 21 rebounds, and added 10 assists to lead the Mavs to an overtime victory. With this incredible effort, he logged a franchise scoring record, became the youngest player in NBA history to have a 50-point triple-double, and became the only player ever to record a 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double.
And yet it was how he forced overtime that might be his best moment of the game.
He’s one of one, and is undoubtedly the reason the Mavericks continue to climb in the Western Conference standings. Their next three games come against the Rockets, Spurs, and Rockets again, giving them a solid shot to extend their current win streak to seven. The Knicks, meanwhile, have lost four in a row on the heels of their hot streak to start December. These are two teams heading in opposite directions, fast.
Booker-less Suns blowout Grizzlies, 125-108
No Booker, no problem. As long as you have Duane Washington Jr. at your disposal, which the Suns, as a matter of fact, do. He scored a career-high 26 points in Phoenix’s surprise domination over Ja Morant (34 points and six assists) and the Grizzlies, while eight other Suns — including Deandre Ayton (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Chris Paul (14 points and six assists) — finished in double figures to snap the team’s three-game losing streak. Memphis’s slide, on the other hand, persists: they’ve lost four out of five, though with Desmond Bane back in action, that shouldn’t last long.
Thunder trounce Spurs, 130-114 Clippers clobber Raptors, 124-113
Presented without comment.
(23 points and 16 rebounds for Stew. Talk about a feast.)
Warriors survive Charlotte’s upset bid, 110-105 Lakers handle plucky Magic, 129-112
Over the weekend, a video of LeBron James blowing by Davis Bertans got a lot of attention because of the move LeBron made in order to create the space. It looked like he pulled up in exhaustion before he cruised past the defender for a rather simple reverse layup. “This how the old heads get you lol act like they tired and then make a move to the rim,” Jasmine Watkins tweeted to accompany the video. And it got me thinking: is it possible that LeBron truly is just that tired, to the point where he’s beyond the most pedestrian acts and has to make them more difficult than necessary?
In the grand scheme of things beating the Orlando Magic is a pedestrian act, especially for LeBron. He has defeated the Magic north of 40 times in his illustrious career, and Tuesday night’s drubbing was no different. Still, he played through such exhaustion, occasionally letting it get the best of him…
… but, as is per usual with the GOAT of his era, he also made his own highlight reel.
He’s toying with the competition at this point. It’s just a matter of how he elects to do it: the slow and steady strategy, or that of the bull in a china shop.
Celtics cruise past Rockets, 126-102
Make that three straight for the C’s, all games in which they’ve scored 120-plus and won by double-digits. That slide doesn’t look so bad now, though Boston’s championship hopes will rely on consistency from here on out.
Wizards shock Sixers despite big night from Embiid, 116-111
The Sixers are streaking no more. Though Joel Embiid (48 points, 10 rebounds) and James Harden (26 points, seven rebounds, 13 assists) did their things to keep the game relatively close, Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal were able to pace Washington to victory with 24 and 19, respectively.
Nuggets eke out tight tilt with Kings, 113-106 Buddy’s big night propels Pacers over Hawks, 129-114
The chatter surrounding Buddy Hield’s seemingly inevitable move to the Los Angeles Lakers is heartbreaking, quite honestly. The basketball he’s played for Indiana so far this season has been nothing short of excellent. It arguably makes him a more attractive piece in the Pacers’ accelerated rebuild than it does Los Angeles’ last-gasp effort at relevance. At 17.4 points per game on 45-41-86 shooting splits, one could also argue that this is the best basketball he’s played thus far as a pro.
On Tuesday, he was Indiana’s best player, scoring 28 points — a sizable chunk of which came by way of his six three-pointers — and pulling down nine rebounds; future All-Star Tyrese Haliburton added 23 points and seven assists to lead Indiana past the Hawks, good for the team’s third win in its last four games.