4 NBA records broken by Luka Doncic during his career-high 73-point game
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic had a special scoring night against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, scoring a career-high 73 points. Along the way, he broke at least four NBA records.
The five-time NBA All-Star had himself a huge ball game in leading the Mavericks to an impressive, 148-143 victory that halted their three-game losing streak and improved the team to a 25-20 record, eighth in the Western Conference.
But while at it, Doncic also rewrote some scoring records in league annals:
4 NBA records Luka Doncic broke with his scoring spree
#4. Tied for fourth highest-scoring game in history
Luka Doncic’s 73 points willed himself to a tie for the fourth highest-scoring game in NBA history, joining legends David Thompson and Wilt Chamberlain who did it the 1978 and 1962 (twice), respectively.
The output is only bested by the 78 of Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia/1961), 81 of Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers/2006) and 100 of Chamberlain (Philadelphia/1962).
Also with the scoring feat, Doncic became only the 10th player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game. He joined Chamberlain, Bryant, Thompson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Davin Robinson, Elgin Baylor, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker in the elite list.
#3. Most efficient 70-point game (FG% and TS%)
On his way to a record-breaking night, Luka Doncic was also efficient in it. He went for 25-of-33 from the floor (75.8%), 8-of-13 from 3 (61.5%) and 15-of-16 from the free-throw line (93.8%).
It led him to an effective field goal percentage of 87.9%, more than 10% higher than the previous high of 75%, which was jointly held by Damian Lillard (Portland/2023) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland/2023).
As per Stat Mamba, Doncic also recorded a true shooting percentage of 91.2%, considerably higher than what Lillard had of 80.4% when he scored 71 as a member of the Trail Blazers against the Houston Rockets in February last year.
#2. Reset Mavericks record for most points scored in a game
Prior to scoring and establishing a new mark of 73 points, the six-year NBA veteran already held the Mavericks franchise record for most points scored in a game of 60, which he set on Dec. 27, 2022, against the New York Knicks.
Interestingly, he also scored the third-highest of 53 almost a year ago against the Detroit Pistons. So far in his NBA career, the Slovenian sensation has scored 50 points seven times.
After Luka Doncic, the next Mavericks player with the most post points scored was NBA legend and Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 53 in December 2004 against the Houston Rockets.
#1. Now second to Michael Jordan with the highest Game Score
As per Basketball Reference, with his record scoring output, Luka Doncic earned him a Game Score of 64, putting him in second spot behind Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, who tallied 64.6 in their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 28, 1990.
Jordan had 69 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a block in the game.
With Doncic landing in second, bumped to third spot was Kobe Bryant (63.5), while Joel Embiid (62.5) and Donovan Mitchell (60.8) completed the top five.
It bears noting, however, that Basketball Reference’s database only tracks Game Scores back to the 1983-84 season.