Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic made history on Sunday evening as he became the first player since Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan to score 30-plus points in the first six games of a season. Jordan accomplished the feat in the 1986-87 season, but his streak ended after six games, which means Doncic has a chance to surpass him on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz.
Doncic poured in 44 points on 17 of 26 from the field, and he added three rebounds and five assists to set a new season-high. He also became just the second player in franchise history to have a 40-point game without a turnover. More importantly, the Mavericks picked up a much-needed win as they outlasted the pesky Orlando Magic, 114-105, to get back to .500 at 3-3.
As he does so often, Doncic started quick and set the tone. He scored the Mavericks' first seven points and finished the first quarter with 16 to improve his league-best first-quarter scoring average. For the season, Doncic is averaging 14.3 points in the first quarter, which is nearly four more than any other player.
By halftime, Doncic was already up to 30. He didn't do quite as much damage after the break, but he did come up with some key buckets down the stretch to help hold off the Magic's comeback attempt. In addition, his calmness when facing a double team in the final minute helped set up Dorian Finney-Smith's game-sealing triple.
For the season, Doncic is now averaging a league-leading 36.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. And he's done so despite having a brutal start from 3-point land, where he's making just 22.6 percent of his attempts. If he had been shooting better his scoring average may be up near 40 at this point.
