By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Luka Doncic was firing from all cylinders and dropped a massive 50-point performance against the Phoenix Suns last December 26, 2023, in the ongoing NBA season.
With his efficient outing from the shooting field, Doncic steered the Mavericks to a convincing 128-114 victory over the Suns to clinch its second straight win in three days.
Doncic converted 15 out of his 25 total attempts and wrapped up the Western Conference duel with a perfect 12/12 shooting from the free throw line while also draining eight three-pointers.
Aside from his terrific offensive masterpiece, Doncic also ran the Dallas offense to perfection after dishing out 15 assists in 43 minutes of action.
It was already a dominant start for Doncic after hitting consecutive step-back treys in the first six minutes of the opening frame.
His lights-out performance helped Dallas bag an early double-digit lead while also helping his teammates find their shooting rhythm in the last three minutes of the second quarter.
Just when Dallas thought it would be another walk in the park, the Suns turned the tables around in the third quarter after outscoring the Mavericks, 38-37, while also snatching the lead.
Grayson Allen and Chimezie Metu joined hands to cool down Doncic but the Slovenian superstar went hot once again at the start of the final canto that sparked another Dallas offensive run.
Despite Eric Gordon and Allen making shots for Phoenix, Doncic outshone them after controlling the pace of the game with his great reads in the pick-and-roll whenever the Suns blitzed him for a double at the top of the key.
Derrick Jones also stepped up for the Mavericks after contributing 23 big points built from an efficient 9/18 shooting from the field.
Dereck Lively, the squad’s rookie center, also maintained his fine play and put up a dominant double-double performance of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
On the other hand, the Suns already lost their third straight game and are yet to re-enter the NBA winning column in the past six days.
