In his last outing, Luka Doncic delivered perhaps the best first-half performance of his career, passed Larry Bird on the all-time triple-doubles list and led the Dallas Mavericks to a 50-point win.
That’s quite the trio of accomplishments to match as Doncic and the Mavericks visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Doncic had a 29-point triple-double at halftime of Wednesday’s 147-97 home thrashing of the Utah Jazz. Overall, he had 40 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 60th career triple-double, one more than legendary Hall of Famer Bird had in his stellar career.
Flying past Bird was a surreal moment for the 24-year-old Doncic.
It marked the fourth 40-point output of the season for Doncic, with two coming in his past three appearances.
The one-sided contest led to Doncic sitting out the final quarter, ending a superb effort that led teammate Tim Hardaway to have visions of crazier numbers.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd made note of the headband Doncic wore while racking up numbers on a night the Mavericks established a season best for points.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points while also sitting out the final stanza of a victory that tied for third largest in Maverick’s history. The larger ones are the franchise-record 53-point victory (123-70) over the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 13, 2014, and a 51-point rout (124-73) of the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 27, 2020.
The Trail Blazers have dropped their past two games after winning three of their previous four.
Portland fell 110-106 at the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The Trail Blazers let an 11-point lead get away.
Anfernee Simons played for the first time since injuring his right thumb in the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers. He scored 28 points and made six 3-pointers but was just 10 of 27 overall from the field.
Shaedon Sharpe had a solid game with 26 points, six rebounds, five assists, four 3-pointers and just one turnover in 42 minutes.
Portland sustained a blow when guard Malcolm Brogdon (knee) departed after 13 scoreless minutes. He was listed as questionable for Friday’s game with right knee soreness.
The Trail Blazers also were without forward Jerami Grant (concussion) and center DeAndre Ayton (knee). Grant won’t play Friday, while Ayton was listed as doubtful.
Dallas will be without forward Grant Williams (knee) for the second straight game.
Portland has won the past two meetings after the Mavericks won the previous six.
