Dallas Mavericks rookie sensation Luka Doncic continues to find ways to impress while leading his team to wins in the process.
Despite shooting 5-for-20 from the field, Doncic recorded the third triple-double of his young career with a team-high 19 points to go along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the Mavs' (25-28) six-point win over the Hornets (26-28) early on Thursday.
PTS: 19
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2019
REB: 10
AST: 11
Luka Doncic gets his third triple double of the season to lead @dallasmavs to home win! pic.twitter.com/rDSxB2cDPD
Doncic, whose 20th birthday is not until Feb. 20, has now recorded three triple-doubles as a teenager – there has been just one other triple-double recorded by a teenager in league history (Markelle Fultz, 2018).
In the win, five other Mavericks finished scoring in double-figures, led by 15 points (on 7-for-11 shooting) from Dorian Finney-Smith. In his first game in Dallas, recent acquisition Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 12 points (on 5-for-16 shooting) in a reserve role, while Canadian big man Dwight Powell recorded an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench.
Charlotte was led by All-Star guard Kemba Walker, who finished the night with 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Jeremy Lamb (15 points) and Nicolas Batum (14 points) were the only other two players to finish in double-figures for the Hornets, who finished the night shooting 36-for-89 (40.4 percent) from the field and 9-for-37 (24.3 percent) from deep.
With the win, Dallas is now just four games out of the West's final playoff seed while the Charlotte holds the East's No. 7 seed. The Mavericks are back in action Saturday when they host the Bucks while the Hornets return to the floor Sunday against the Hawks.