Quote board: Luka Doncic makes Dallas Mavericks history with win over New York Knicks

The superlatives no longer do justice to the performances Luka Doncic puts on for the adoring crowd of the Dallas Mavericks. His spectacular 60 point, 21 rebounds, 10 point triple double was somehow better than it reads in the win over the New York Knicks. And while there’s plenty to recap in the 126-121 overtime victory, there’s even more that was said by head coach Jason Kidd and Luka Doncic himself.

Luka Doncic

(On his 60 point, 21 rebound, 10 assist night)

“I’m tired as hell... I need a recovery beer”

(On his all-time performance tonight…)

“I don’t know. I was just kind of a little bit lucky there. [I had] two steals, one block, five offensive rebounds, and a jump ball, too. I don’t know, man. I’m just enjoying the sport.”

(On if his best shot of the night was the intentional miss on the late free throw that led to his game-tying jumper to send the game to overtime…)

“Yeah, I mean, we put JaVale [McGee] in there cold. He didn’t play at all. He did a great job in there. The ball went to – I don’t know who tipped it, JaVale or C-Wood, but I think it was meant to be.”

(On if his celebration after making the game-tying basket was a call for a foul or a celebration…)

“Well, it was celebrating. But, honestly, a lot of people asked me about this back in the locker room. I thought we won it. So, when I went to the crowd like this, I thought we had won the game. But when I saw the score, I was like “Oh.” I didn’t know what to do.”

(On if he has taken a shot like his game-tying basket in practice before…)

“No, I don’t think so. I knew it was two seconds or something, so I just threw it up and hopefully, it went in.”

(On his teammates pouring water bottles all over him to celebrate…)

“It was cold. It was probably like six waters.”

(On Mavericks VP of Basketball Communications Scott Tomlin sharing his numbers after games like this…)

“He don’t tell me anything.”

(On if he takes a minute to reflect after games where he puts up historic numbers and is up there with some of the greatest players in NBA history…)

“We just saw it on the screen right now. We were watching NBA TV. I mean, it’s just incredible to be in those comparisons and just to be with those guys, at any stage. It’s amazing for me.”

(On if he remembers the last time he scored 60 points in a game…)

“Never.”

(On not giving up, despite trailing by 9 with 33 seconds to go in the game…)

“I mean, that was pretty impressive. The whole team just kept going. [Teams were] 0-13,000+ games and with 35 seconds [left]. That’s impressive. Everybody just kept it together. We believed. That’s what I will say to that.”

(On scoring 27 of his 60 points in pick-and-roll situations…)

“We know that New York was not going to double. I love the pick-and-roll. I think everybody knows that. So, we’ll just keep running the pick-and-roll.”

(On what his mindset and message was to the team while trailing…)

“I think it was a little bit of both. It was a little bit of yelling on the bench. But, sometimes, I think we need it. Sometimes, we might not. But it was both. Honestly, it wasn’t just me. I think everybody was just [trying to] keep focusing on the game and keeping the energy up. That’s what we’ve got to do every game.”

Jason Kidd

(On Luka Dončić’s 60-point, 21-rebound, 10-assist night...)

“I know, everybody is still in shock. He always does [something new]. He’s special. The history of the game is written by the players and it was written again tonight for a player – Luka – doing something that’s never been done before. It’s hard to do – there’ve been some great players before him. As we were walking in, Elgin Baylor, I think Wilt [Chamberlain] – he was in that class and then he separated himself and made his own class, which is pretty cool.”

(On the intentional missed free throw and put-back to force overtime...)

“This kid [Luka Dončić] doesn’t quit. He doesn’t quit. You can see that. I think he trusted. Late game was better for us tonight. Looking at Spencer [Dinwiddie] makes a big shot; he could have easily flipped it back to LD [Luka Dončić], he keeps it, he has a wide-open 3. But the put-back, JaVale [McGee] calls that. JaVale, again we said in the locker room, helped us. Everybody participated, helped us win. That was a big play by JaVale, sitting there the whole night and then coming up with a play to be able to help tie the game. LD wanted a foul, too. I wasn’t going to get greedy, I was just going to take the two points but I think he might have gotten fouled – who knows? Again, Luka doesn’t quit; he keeps playing and his teammates didn’t quit when they saw that from their leader. Everyone had a part in making a big play down the stretch.”

(On Luka Dončić stepping into a leadership role this season...)

“Just with age, he has a birthday coming up here in the new year, I think he’s seen it all at the age of 23. But just his competitiveness to win is at a very high level – and you saw that displayed tonight. Things weren’t going well. Give the Knicks credit, they were making a lot of 3s that we didn’t think were possible. They were playing harder. We were down 10. We’ve been in this position earlier in the season, when you talk about giving up a lead or giving up a game like this. Just to be able to stay together and trust, Luka [Dončić] had a big part in that. He never was discouraged that the game was over. As you can see, he’s picking up full-court, we had a big jump ball. There’s a lot of things we’ve learned from our losses in close games like this.”

(On Luka Dončić being the only Maverick to make a field goal in overtime...)

“I think he’s getting used to not coming out. I can’t wait to be able to take him out and he gets upset. He’s playing the whole second half – he played pretty much the whole second half and overtime. Again, he’s so competitive. He’s going to will this team and you saw that tonight. I don’t think he gets tired when he’s competing. Now when it comes to practice (laughing) – we’ll work him tomorrow. No, I’m just in awe to see a young player like that. We sit here every night and we’re lucky and I’ve said this before: we can’t take him for granted. People get their money’s worth when they come to watch him play; he puts on a show. But he’s all about winning. He believes he can win every night. As a teammate and as a coach, that’s who you want in that locker room.”

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