Luka Doncic has been putting up big numbers like never before so far this season, and Thursday’s game versus the Utah Jazz was no exception. He went for an efficient 45 points and also had 14 assists, 11 rebounds and five steals, giving him his third triple-double and sixth 40-point game of this season.
He drove the Los Angeles Lakers to a 143-135 victory after they trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter due to some weak defense. He continues to lead the NBA in scoring average, and at 35.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game, he’s within shouting distance of averaging a triple-double.
After Thursday’s game, Doncic said that he could’ve put up even bigger numbers to help his team, per Dave McMenamin of ESP.
“I think, honestly, I could do so much more,” Doncic said after totaling 45 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and only 1 turnover. “But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. We had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game.”
Ever since the NBA started to keep track of steals as an official stat during the 1973-74 season, only two players have ever scored 45 points while recording a triple-double in a game. Doncic is the second player to do so after Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham got it done in an overtime game in November.
While greed may be a bad thing in the financial sector, sometimes greed can be a good thing in sports, as long as it doesn’t interfere with team goals. While Doncic leads the NBA in overall field-goal attempts and 3-point tries per game, it may not be a bad thing for him to occasionally do even more than he did on Thursday.
Given the Lakers’ defensive woes (they currently rank 22rd in defensive rating), they may need even more from the Slovenian superstar in order to defeat the league’s elite teams.
