Luka Doncic scores 73 points in Friday night game
Luka Dončić saw Joel Embiid’s 70-point game and raised him three.
The Dallas Mavericks point guard scored a whopping 73 points Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks. It came just days after Embiid, the center for the Philadelphia 76ers, collected 70 points Monday against the San Antonio Spurs.
Dončić, who has been averaging 33.6 points per game this NBA season, not only outscored Embiid, but also himself and the Mavericks. His 73-point game is his personal best and a team best. Before Friday’s shootout, both of those records sat at 60.
It also put Dončić, 24, in fourth place for the highest-scoring game for a player in NBA history.
The Mavs celebrated the achievement by posting what appears to be a photo of Doncic as a child on X, wearing a photoshopped-on version of his current jersey.
Dončić, who is in his sixth season, sunk a three-pointer with 2:58 left in the game, bringing his tally to 70 for the night. Another three-point shot sealed the deal, and the Mavs’ 148-143 win.
Overall, Dončić is tied for fourth place in single-game scoring, behind only Wilt Chamberlain — who holds the record with 100 points in 1962 and is also has the third-place spot for 78 points scored in 1961 and Kobe Bryant who tallied 81 points in 2006 putting him at second.
Besides Dončić, two other players have scored 73 points in a game: Chamberlain, who scored 73 points twice in a single game in 1962, and David Thompson, who achieved the same feat in 1978.