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Steve RichardsESPN
Three of the NBA’s brightest young stars played a show on Friday night with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis of the Dallas Mavericks and Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans posting a series of stunning numbers.
Doncic had a career record of 46 points and 12 assists, Porzingis had 36 points and eight points out of 3 (both season records) and Williamson had a career record of 36 points out of 14 out of 15 shots with the Mavericks winning 143- 130, his fourth consecutive victory.
Add Brandon Ingram of Pelicans, who scored 30, and it was the first time in NBA history that four players 25 years and younger had 30 or more points in a regulatory game, according to Elias Sports research. Doncic and Williamson became the second pair of opposing players, each 21 years old or younger, to score at least 35 points in the same game. Kevin Durant (46 for Thunder) and Eric Gordon (41 for Clippers) did this on January 23, 2009, also according to the Elias Sports poll.
Dominant Doncic
Doncic, who drew a career high with 42 points last Saturday in a high-scoring clash against Steph Curry, became the fourth player with 45 points and 10 assists in a game at age 21 or under, joining Trae Young , Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordânia, according to Elias.
“Luka left for a race in which he hit four or five, like, 3 difficult and disputed points,” said Williamson. “There is really no defensive scheme that you can do for that. He is a great player who hits difficult kicks.”
It was the 13th consecutive game of 25 points for Doncic, the third longest streak for a player aged 21 or under in NBA history. Only Durant (29 in 2009-10) and LeBron James (16 in 2006) had the longest streak at age 21.
Doncic is the only player in the history of the Mavericks with 40 points and 10 assists in one game – and he has done this eight times (seven regular seasons, one playoff).
Dynamic duo
Doncic and Porzingis combined to score or help with 103 points, and Doncic scored in all eight midfielders he faced. Porzingis had 4-to-5 (all 3 points) on Doncic’s passes. Overall, the Mavericks hit 12 out of 17 with Doncic passes.
“Tonight was one of those games where things were clicking for both of us, and he is finding me open on the 3-point line,” said Porzingis. “It gives both of us energy and it just creates momentum for us and the team when we start like this and we are taking down kicks and making that extra pass. It seemed easy and natural. Not every game is going to be like this, but I believe we are on the way right. “
“Both are great offensive players. Both are unique. They fit extremely well,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “Their games complement each other very well. The chemistry tonight was tremendous. The balls were delivered on time, on target – people kicking into the rhythm. It was great to watch.”
Doncic, who was born in Slovenia, and Porzingis, from Latvia, were the first teammates born outside the United States to score 35 or more points each in a game. His 82 combined points are the second highest in history by a pair of teammates born outside the 50 states and the highest in an official game, according to Elias Sports research. (Tim Duncan and Tony Parker of Spurs combined in 85.)
Zion almost perfect
While he missed his only shot outside the painting, Williamson went 14-to-14 in the painting. The only player with the most marks without missing a game in the past 25 seasons was Hakeem Olajuwon in 1998.
“Williamson was ridiculous. I mean, unbelievable what he can do on a basketball court, ”Carlisle said.
Williamson joins Derrick Rose as the only players aged 20 and over to go 10 to 10 or more in half over the past 25 seasons. Rose scored 10 to 10 in the second half on March 18, 2009, on Thunder.
Williamson is the youngest player in NBA history with a game of at least 30 points in 90% of pitches or more, beating Dwight Howard, according to the Elias Sports poll.
The ugly side
While all the loud numbers are fun for fans to see, they give both coaches nightmares while trying to get some defense from their teams. The Pelicans have allowed 50 points out of 3 in their last two games, the maximum allowed by any team in a period of two games in NBA history. (In addition to the 25 made by Mavs, New Orleans also gave 25 long balls against the Bulls on Wednesday.)
“We did everything possible tonight. They scored against everything,” said Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy. “They hit 3s against everything. We switched. We started pick-and-roll. We crashed pick-and-roll. We played zone. It didn’t matter. Nothing we did had any impact on them. We’re playing an abominable defense. . Our defense is ridiculous. “
“The ESPN audience had a real treat tonight in terms of entertainment, but it was a pillow fight in defense,” said Carlisle.
Material from ESPN NBA reporters Tim MacMahon and Andrew Lopez, and ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.