Luka Doncic reacts to trash talk incident between him and Detroit Pistons bench: "If they gonna chirp at me, I’m gonna chirp back"
Luka Doncic returned with a big bang after sitting out the past two games with a sprained right ankle. He exploded for 53 points against the Detroit Pistons to carry the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-105 victory.
“Luka Legend” started hot, torching the Pistons for 24 first-quarter points. He spent the first 12 minutes of the game playmaking, scoring buckets and engaging Detroit’s bench in some nasty trash talk.
When asked after the game what the back-and-forth was all about, the superstar point guard had this to say:
“It was their [Pistons] assistant coach, he started chirping in the first quarter. They didn’t like when I chirped back now they say, ‘Play basketball.’ If they gonna chirp at me, I’m gonna chirp back. I ain’t scared.”
Jerome Allen was the assistant coach Luka Doncic animatedly and nastily talked trash to. Detroit’s tactic seemed to work as despite the superstar’s scorching start, the Pistons kept themselves in the game.
Eventually, the scrappy Pistons grabbed the lead and eventually extended it to 11 before Dallas cut it to 84-83 heading into the fourth quarter. The Slovenian followed up his 24 first-quarter points with another 18 markers in the third period.
The Pistons threw everything at Doncic, but he kept them on their back heels with his aggressiveness. “Luka Magic” went to the free-throw line 18 times, making 14 of them. As a team, Detroit only had 27 bonus shots.
Luka Doncic had some words for the Pistons’ coaching staff after dropping a 50-piece on them 😅😅 https://t.co/6I7zAcI9oJ
With Detroit doubling Doncic on almost every possession in the final period, the recently-named NBA All-Star starter promptly adjusted. He played decoy to allow Spencer Dinwiddie to take over the fourth-quarter scoring.
Dinwiddie’s 10 points in the last 12 minutes of the game helped Luka Doncic rally the Dallas Mavericks to victory.
Doncic’s 53 points are the fourth time this season he has reached at least 50, which leads the NBA. Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid share second place with two such games.
The Dallas Mavericks may be running Luka Doncic to the ground
Luka Doncic leads the Dallas Mavericks in points, rebounds, assists, steals and minutes played. He’s carrying a Herculean task of trying to drag the team back to the playoffs. Dallas is winless in six games without him this season.
It seems like he has to play out of his mind to drag the Mavericks into the postseason. In his historic 60-point triple-double against the New York Knicks on Dec. 27, he did all the nearly impossible things to win them the game.
Tonight, he had another spectacular outing, leading the Mavericks in points, rebounds and assists. Fortunately, Spencer Dinwiddie stepped up when the Detroit Pistons swarmed “Luka Legend” every time he had the ball.
@WorldWideWob Luka Dončić and the Dallas #Mavs.
https://t.co/M2Aw6nimBc
Despite Luka Doncic’s heroics, Dallas is only 27-25, which is sixth in the Western Conference. They have a lofty enough spot that they don’t have to go through the play-in tournament if they keep that place. But it seems like they’re asking too much of him every single night.
Doncic may not be enough once the postseason starts.