Watch: Luka Doncic posterizes Dwight Howard with a vicious dunk as the latter has no answer during Dallas Mavericks vs LA Lakers
Luka Doncic is amazing. The Slovenia-born NBA player, who just turned 23 on February 28, has already demonstrated his incredible talent in his four-year NBA career. The Dallas Mavericks superstar has incredible handles, brilliant court vision, and can both score and rebound the basketball.
On Tuesday night, however, Luka Doncic proved he can put his opponents on a poster too. Playing against the LA Lakers at their home venue, Crypto.com Arena, Doncic left the home team fans stunned with a highlight play towards the end of the first quarter.
The moment transpired at the 3:18 mark of quarter one when Doncic viciously jammed Spencer Dinwiddie's missed corner three-point shot over Dwight Howard. Howard positioned himself under the basket to gather the rebound off the missed attempt. However, Doncic came from behind and slammed the ball over Howard with his right hand.
The commentator summarized the play the best by exclaiming:
"Oh Doncic! A grown man's jam on the follow."
LUKA OMG 😱 https://t.co/BUMBFGOMOW
The dunk was two of 15 points that Doncic scored in the first half of the game against the Lakers. He also had five rebounds and two blocked shots before the halftime break.
Luka Doncic is the driving force behind Dallas Mavericks' playoff ambitions
The Dallas Mavericks have been eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the past two seasons.
Luka Doncic has been sensational for the Mavericks in both those playoff losses. He averaged 31.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 8.7 APG while shooting 50.0% from the field in the six-game first-round series loss to the LA Clippers in the 2020 postseason.
In the 2021 postseason, Doncic did even better as he put up 35.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 10.3 APG in a seven-game series loss to the Clippers. He also shot 49.0% from the field and 41.0% from downtown.
This season, the Dallas Mavericks' playoff hopes are once again pinned on their three-time All-Star. With Doncic currently averaging 27.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 8.9 APG, the Mavericks have overcome a 17-18 start and have gone 19-7 in the new year. They occupy the fifth position in the Western Conference standings (before their game against the Lakers) and are only 2.5 games adrift of the fourth-placed Utah Jazz.
If Dallas can surpass Utah, it would mean that they will have home-court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. However, for that to happen, Doncic will have to continue to be sensational.