Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic beat Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson to a historic 50-point triple-double in one game.
Doncic’s 33-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance in Friday’s 127-99 win over the visiting Denver Nuggets made him the 10th player in NBA history to record 50 career triple-doubles.
Doncic accomplished the feat in his 278th career game, one less than Johnson needed. Only Oscar Robertson (111) needed fewer games to get 50 triple-doubles.
“He’s already rewriting the record books,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd, who took 649 games to record 50 triple-doubles in his playing career. “That’s pretty cool… Oscar is pretty special, so now to be up there behind Oscar being the second fastest at 50, just shows how special he is.”
It was also the 25th time Doncic has scored at least 30 points in a triple-double. That ranks fifth in NBA history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, behind only Robertson, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and James Harden.
The 23-year-old Doncic, who leads the league in scoring, has four triple-doubles with 30 points in 14 games this season. The rest of the NBA has combined for just one, from Toronto’s Pascal Siakam.
As usual, Doncic didn’t have much to say about joining the exclusive historic statistical company, something he’s done on a routine basis during his five-year NBA career.
“It’s amazing,” Doncic said. “Every time you ask me, I have the same answer. It’s fun. I’m very happy to be here and do this.”
