Luka Doncic’s 50-Point Brilliance vs Suns Couldn’t Beat James Harden for NBA’s Best Christmas Week Performance

Luka Doncic had one of the most iconic Christmas Day performances in NBA history. The Slovenian sensation single-handedly dominated the Phoenix Suns and got Dallas a 128-114 victory. Luka was doing it all on the court and finished the game with an insane stat line of 50 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. The Dallas Mavericks superstar has been on a tear recently and has even put himself into the MVP conversation.

However, Luka Doncic’s 50-point outing against Kevin Durant and Co. was not enough to beat former MVP James Harden’s historic Christmas Week performance of 2016.

James Harden had a better Christmas Week game than Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic is currently one of the best offensive weapons in the NBA. He can score at will with his versatile skill set. That allowed him to drop a 50-piece on arch-rivals the Phoenix Suns. However, Doncic fell short of matching the historic Christmas Week performance of prime James Harden. The former MVP dropped a 53-point triple-double on December 31st, 2016. Harden scored 53 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds on that day against the New York Knicks. Harden also got Houston a 129-122 victory over the Knicks with his historic performance.

Luka and Harden are the only players with 50 points and 15 assists in a single game. With Kyrie Irving out of action due to a foot injury, Luka has been playing at an elite level. He is averaging a near triple-double with 33.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 9.4 assists. Not only is he putting up insane individual performance, but he is also helping Dallas win.

The Mavericks are ranked 5th in the Western Conference with a 18-12 record.

Read More: Has Luka Doncic Left Devin Booker in the Dust?

Doncic vs. Prime Harden

With young and talented players like Luka Doncic and Ja Morant on the rise, people sometimes forget how lethal James Harden was in his prime. The Beard is arguably one of the best regular season scorers the league has ever seen. Harden was an unstoppable force when he played for the Houston Rockets from 2012 to 2021. He became an All-Star every year he played in Houston and even won the MVP trophy in 2018. While this is the second year Luka is averaging 30+ points in a season, James Harden did it for three straight years.

James Harden led the league in scoring from 2017 to 2020. His best scoring season came in 2018-19, where he averaged a whopping 36.1 points in 78 games. Luka is just 24 years old and is at par with the scoring ability of prime James Harden. It will be interesting to see if he will ever be able to put up a better scoring average than Harden’s 36.1 points.

Who do you think is a better scorer, Luka Doncic or prime James Harden?

Watch This Story: Luka Doncic Jestingly Gives a Worrying Health Update After Nuggets Heartbreak