Dallas Mavericks were not able to take away Game 1 from Phoenix. However, Luka Doncic shined with an incredible performance despite the loss.
Doncic became the youngest player with 45 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs since Kobe Bryant did it back in 2001 against the Spurs, per SportsCenter.
Luka Doncic is the youngest player with 45 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Kobe Bryant in 2001 😳 pic.twitter.com/5VgTudHhpK — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 3, 2022
Bryant was 22 at the time while Doncic is 23 years old. The Monday’s scoring explosion also increased Luka’s points average in the playoffs.
He averages 33.4 per game, tying Michael Jordan as the best scorer, regarding career-averages in the postseason. They are the only points to put up more than 30 in their playoff career so far, per StatMuse.
Most career PPG in the playoffs: 33.4 — Michael Jordan 33.4 — Luka Doncic They’re the only two averaging 30+. pic.twitter.com/MOlhhHkTLO — StatMuse (@statmuse) May 3, 2022
Doncic has played 17 playoff games in his young career so far. He had averages of 32.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists entering Monday’s contest against the Suns.
The Mavs superstar went off shooting 15 of 30 from the floor, while making 4 out of his 11 attempts from deep. Even Mikal Bridges- a DPOY candidate- could not stop him.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Doncic had 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting with Bridges as the primary defender.
In any case, that was not enough for the Mavericks to start the series on a great note as they fell to the more well-rounded performance of the Suns’ team, who saw Booker, Ayton and Paul combining for 67 points to lead the Suns to the 1-0 lead.
Next game between the two teams is on Wednesday in Phoenix.
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