Houston became an arena of magic as Luka Doncic carried the Dallas Mavericks on his back once again. The 23-year-old superstar has rewritten history books with what is arguably his best season in a young career. And tonight, the Slovenian international was probably at his most lethal. Playing away from home, the boos of the Houston Rockets crowd didn’t matter as Doncic exploded for his second career 50-point performance. What’s more, he did it with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal in the house.
For the past couple of seasons, Doncic has arguably been a lone warrior for the Dallas Mavericks. The front office has done a decent job bringing in the likes of Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood to help out their 23-year-old prodigy. However, while they were all on the floor tonight, the focus was all on the magician from Slovenia. In a cut-throat battle, Doncic’s incredible scoring night became the single reason Dallas escaped with a win.
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After a stellar performance, the three-time All-Star met up with the Hall of Famer who witnessed the show.
Shaquille O’Neal enjoys a Luka Doncic show in Houston
The Mavericks narrowly secured their fifth road win of the season thanks to a lone show by their franchise cornerstone. The 112-106 win over the Houston Rockets had Doncic’s fingerprints all over, as he fell 2 rebounds short of a triple-double. It was his second career 50-point performance, which went along with his 10 assists and 3 steals for the game.
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The crowd was buzzing watching ‘Luka Magic’ go to work. And one man with courtside seats for the unraveling was none other than Los Angeles Lakers legend. NBA Twitter ran wild as the two shared a moment after Doncic’s performance for the ages.
Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ToSirWithNoLove/status/1606508322781364230?s=20&t=BvG88t1f8Jaw1mFKESujeg
Good thing Shaq had his name on his chain or nobody would recognize who he was…
— Beavis (@Wilbur_NOLA) December 24, 2022
No way we were winnin this game if Shaq wasn't here.
First time in 5 yrs i witnessed locked in Luka against a bum team. https://t.co/1pVeEtEuG9
— mk77 🔻 (@CundullahMk77) December 24, 2022
Luka 🤝 Shaq pic.twitter.com/3cOC8KrQDC
— NBA Latam (@NBALatam) December 24, 2022
Luka Doncic said he chatted with Shaq after the game, but "he didn’t speak Slovenian this time."
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) December 24, 2022
Shaq taking in some Luka, Mavs action 🔥#MFFL pic.twitter.com/XcgElxjytg
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) December 24, 2022
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The Houston Rockets had a combined offense that nearly spoiled Doncic’s 50-point night. Jabari Smith Jr. led the way with a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Jalen Green chipped in with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. All of the Houston starters scored in double digits as opposed to the Dallas Mavericks who had just two players surpass the 10-point benchmark.
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While Luka Doncic defied all odds and single-handedly got the win, this can’t become the theme for the Mavericks. Christian Wood and Dinwiddie will probably need to work on consistently supporting their 23-year-old to best utilize what has been an MVP-caliber season so far.
What did you think of Luka Doncic’s performance? Let us know in the comments below.