Following a performance by the ages by Dallas Mavericks‘ superstar Luka Doncic, various current and former players from across the league reacted to Doncic’s game against the New York Knicks, including current Chicago Bulls stars DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic and former Bulls star Pau Gasol.
All three were in awe of what Doncic pulled off and let him know as much.
This dude Luka!!
Me seeing Luka’s stats tonight…wow
Unreal @luka7doncic!!! 👏🏼🙌🏼💪🏼🔥#Respect
On the night, Doncic put up 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting 21-for-31 from the field, two-for-six from three, and 16-for-22 from the free throw line in 47 minutes of action. Doncic’s statline not only led to the Mavericks defeating the Knicks in overtime, but they also pulled off a miraculous comeback, being down nine points with 33.9 seconds to go, only to come back to tie it at the end of regulation.
Doncic wasn’t the sole reason the Mavericks pulled off the comeback, but he was the driving factor behind it, pushing the Mavericks to a 126-121 victory.
The Mavericks pulled off the comeback win against former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau with former Bulls MVP Derrick Rose on the roster.
Ex-Bull, Knick Reacts to Luka’s Performance
After Doncic’s heroics led to the comeback victory, former Bulls and Knicks guard Jamal Crawford expressed his disappointment in his former team’s defense on Doncic.
“I was shocked not to see a double team, not to see a different look,” Crawford said. “Grant (Hill) will tell you, great players, they’re dissecting everything. They’re collecting data. Luka, it took some magic, but he was also seeing single coverage. He made the right plays when they did try to double him a little bit, but he was basically playing one-on-one. The help came. Obviously, you had (Tim) Hardaway making shots, and different guys making shots that get him more space. But I would have thought he would have seen a full-out blitz with the ball in his hands.”
“I was shocked not to see a double team, not to see a different look…Luka…made the right plays when they did try to double a little bit, but he was basically playing 1 on 1”
— Jamal Crawford on the Knicks defense of Luka Doncic (60pt 21rbd triple-double in the OT win over NY)
Crawford started his career with the Bulls in 2000, where he played for four years before being traded to the Knicks in 2004.
Doncic’s efforts not only led to a career-high scoring-wise, but his 60 points also set a Mavericks franchise record. The Mavericks have had a few of the NBA’s most prolific scorers of their generations throughout their franchise history, like Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Aguirre, and Doncic accomplished a feat neither them, nor any other Maverick ever has.
Thibodeau Calls Doncic a ‘Monster Player’
Ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau praised Doncic following his performance, but also criticized how his players defended him.
“He’s a monster player,” Thibodeau said. “He’s making good plays, and he’s aggressive, but we can’t keep fouling a guy giving 22 free throws up. We talk about verticality and restrict it all the time, and we keep whacking down. Until we fix that, it’s going to cost us.”
Having lost their fourth straight game, the Knicks are 19-18, which ties them with the Indiana Pacers for the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed. The Bulls, who are 14-19 and the East’s 11th seed, are only three games behind the Knicks in the Eastern Conference playoff race following their loss to the Mavericks.
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Current and Former Bulls Stars Sound off on Luka Doncic’s Legendary Performance