Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
After losing four-straight games, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks finally got back into the win column Monday. Dallas’ March 27 victory over the Indiana Pacers was a comfortable one. The Mavs went up big early and never looked back, coasting to a 127-104 win.
Doncic put together a solid night, scoring 25 points, securing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 6 assists. One of the Slovenian’s dimes went viral on Twitter.
The clip showed Doncic being trapped in the right corner by two Pacers defenders and then finding a wide-open Jaden Hardy in the opposite corner for a three.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took to Twitter and issued a statement on the play, sending praise the 24-year-old’s way.
“Man that’s SIMPLY INSANE!!!!,” James tweeted, followed by a whopping nine sideways-crying-laughing emojis.
James knows a thing or two about dropping dimes. The 19-time All-Star sits fourth on the NBA’s all-time assist leaderboard with 10,374 (as of March 28).
Jason Kidd Praises Luka Doncic’s Dime in Mavs Win vs. Pacers
Doncic’s coach, Jason Kidd, actually ranks above James on the assist leaderboard. Kidd trails only John Stockton for the top spot with 12,091 career-assists.
He took the opportunity to praise his young star’s passing performance, when speaking to the press after the victory.
“Pretty cool. Which one, though? He had a couple of them that were pretty cool,” Kidd said via the Mavericks’ official YouTube channel. “He was kind of trapped. I think that’s what he does. He’s one of the best passers in the league. He can find guys. He’s strong enough. I don’t know if anybody else can make that pass. And then, to be able to catch and shoot, Hardy did that not just once, but a couple of times tonight from Luka’s double-teams and are off some of the passes. Again, he can make passes most guys can’t.”
Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving Speaks On Frustrated Luka Doncic
Doncic’s backcourt partner Kyrie Irving scored an efficient 16 points against Indiana, making 7-of-11 attempts from the field.
Just the day prior, after Dallas’ loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Irving discussed his star teammate’s recent comments about being frustrated.
“I’m sure he’s had some private time to acknowledge it, but when he acknowledges it in a public eye, I think it’s usually suppressed emotions from a long period of time and he just wanted to get it out off of his chest, and I’m proud of him for being honest and open,” Irving said via Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth. “We obviously talked about it in the locker room briefly, but for me, I’ve said throughout my whole entire year, this past year, of just really paying attention to the human element. The wins and losses come and go, but the kind of nitpicking of judgment of what’s going on when someone says, ‘I’m having human emotions,’ and then it goes to what’s the blame or who’s the blame? And it starts pointing fingers. You know, that’s the aspect that I don’t enjoy about this sport at all. There’s a human element that goes into this where we perform every single day. You know, this is a 24/7 job. I don’t think people realize that, at times, that are not entrenched with us…”
After Sunday’s loss, Kyrie Irving was asked about Luka Doncic’s comments about frustrations in his post-game comments from Friday.
“I’m sure he’s had some private time to acknowledge it, but when he acknowledges it in a public eye, I think it’s usually suppressed emotions from a…