Whether they wanted to be or not, the Atlanta Hawks were witnesses to NBA history on their own court, for another team’s star player.
The Hawks were outshined by the Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic, who racked up a record-setting 73 points, the most scored by anyone in State Farm Arena, and helped the Mavericks beat the Hawks 148-143. The lackluster Hawks defense played a role in this, their 26th defeat this season.
But Doncic’s amazing effort dominated the Hawks, who struggled to maintain a lead in the first half and were blown away by the Mavs in the second. Luka’s seemingly endless scoring put him in fourth place for most points scored in one game in NBA history, tying him with Wilt Chamberlain, who hit 73 points twice in 1962. He holds the record for the most single-game points ever, 100, in the Philadelphia vs. NY game in March 1962.
The Luka show looks even more impressive considering he scored more points than the Hawks point leader Trae Young (30), Bogdan Bogdanovic (24), and Saddiq Bey (16) put together. (70)
The Hawks made 52% of their shots, compared to the Mavs (60%), who also successfully shot more three-pointers, 54% to 44%.
Young, returning from concussion protocol, got 30 points tonight, with 11 assists and 1 rebound. Jalen Johnson scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Bogdanovic scored 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Hawks’ next game is against the Toronto Raptors (16-28) on Sunday, January 28.
