There is now little doubt within American professional basketball about the legendary status of Luka Doncic, a 23-year-old boy who left an indelible legacy in Madrid and who, since his arrival in the NBA four seasons ago, took the helm of the Dallas Mavericks and fell in love with a fan who had not witnessed a similar phenomenon since Nowitzki.
In the early hours of this Thursday, in the most important game of the postseason for the Mavs where a defeat eliminated them from the Playoffs, the Slovenian reconfirmed that he is one of the chosen ones. The versatile point guard scored 33 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out eight assists and stole four balls for his team to beat the Suns (86-113).
With this victory, against the odds, Jason Kidd’s men even the conference semifinal series (3-3) and force the seventh game: whoever wins on Sunday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix will be a finalist in the always wild west.
In his comfortable local victory, where the American Airlines Center vibrated to the beat of his team’s basketball, Doncic was well supported by Reggie Bullock (19 points, with 5 triples), the always regular Jalen Brunson (18 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (15 points); a priori complementary players, who are performing at an optimum level. Kidd, once the starting point guard for the Mavs who won the ring a decade ago, is managing to pair the Slovenian’s talent with a squad where hard work and versatility are his best attributes. And, without going any further, they are just one victory away from getting into their first conference final since 2011, the year in which Nowitzki went down in history.
In the Suns, probably the team that does the best basketball in the league, neither Booker (19 points) nor Chris Paul (13 points, four assists) had their best day on the floor. However, on Sunday, in front of their public, Monty Williams’ men (voted coach of the year) start as favorites to face the Warriors or the Grizzlies in the Western final. Opposite will be Doncic, a kid used to breaking expectations.
2
