The Dallas Mavericks evened up their Western Conference first round series with the Los Angeles Clippers thanks to Luka Doncic’s monster performance in Game 2 Tuesday night.
Doncic scored 32 points, dished out nine assists and pulled in six rebounds in 46 minutes in Dallas’ 96-93 win. Not known for his defensive prowess, Doncic also played a key role on that end of the floor as well.
“I think his defense has been great this whole series,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said postgame, via ESPN. “We know they’re going to put him in pick-and-roll. A couple years ago we saw this, and we had to tell him to participate. But I think he’s participating at a high level on both ends. He’s leading not just on the offensive end but also the defensive end.”
Mirjam Poterbin, Doncic’s mom, highlighted one of her son’s biggest offensive plays on her Instagram story. In the clip, Doncic buries a stepback three-pointer over James Harden to put the Mavericks up 90-81.
Poterbin included a “flame” emoji along with two hands.
Now even at one game apiece, the Mavericks and Clippers will battle it out in Game 3 in Dallas Friday night.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The winner of the series will face either Oklahoma City or New Orleans in the second round.