Luka Doncic destroys Knicks in unprecedented fashion: Seven numbers to know from Mavs star’s historic night

Luka Doncic put on one of the greatest performances in NBA history on Tuesday night, tallying a stat line that’s impossible to believe even as I sit here and write it: 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the Mavericks’ absolutely wild 126-121 overtime victory over the Knicks. 

This marks the first 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double in NBA history, and just the second 60-point triple-double of any kind, joining James Harden’s 60-11-10 line from a 2018. Here are seven numbers to know from Luka’s unprecedented night:

1. First 60-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game all-time
2. Second 60-point triple-double all-time (James Harden, 60-11-10)
3. First 60-point, 20-rebound game since Shaq in 2000
4. NBA’s first 60-point game this season
5. Mavericks single-game scoring record
6. Doncic career high (points and rebounds)
7. Doncic’s 56.3 Game Score sixth best since 1983-84

That last number is per our CBS Sports research department. Game Score reflects the full box score in identifying the best single-game performances. Here are the only five that have topped Doncic’s 56.3 since 1883-84:

1. Michael Jordan (64.6): 69 pts, 23-37 FG, 18 Reb, 6 Ast, 4 Stl
2. Kobe Bryant (63.5): 81 pts, 28-46 FG, 18-20 FG, 3 Stl
3. Karl Malone (60.2): 61 pts, 21-26 FG, 19-23 FT, 18 Reb
4. David Thompson (57.0): 73 pts, 28-38 FG, 17-20 FT, 7 Reb
5. James Harden (56.6): 60 pts, 10 Reb, 11 Ast, 17-18 FT, 4 Stl
6. Luka Doncic (56.3): 60 pts, 21 Reb, 10 Ast, 21-31 FG, 16-22 FT

Wilt Chamberlain’s numbers are supposed to be mythical. Doncic is out here topping them. The most points Wilt ever scored in a game in which he also tallied 20 rebounds was 53. 

I mean this was just crazy how easy Luka made this look. There is no way that a Mavericks victory should have been possible. They were down by nine with 33 seconds to play. With 4.2 seconds remaining and Dallas trailing by two, Luka missed a free throw on purpose, wound up winning the tip-drill rebound, and scored to tie the game. 

Another number for your consideration: 13,884. That’s the number of games in which a team led by at least nine points with 35 or fewer seconds remaining coming into Tuesday. Want to know how many of those teams lost the game? Zero. Not one. Sorry, Knicks fans. 

“I’m tired as hell,” Doncic said in his postgame interview. He should be. It’s not often that we can say something like this, but we may never see another game like this in our lifetime. That includes everyone reading this. Everyone on the planet, in fact. Regardless of age. I know records are made to be broken and all, but a 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double could feasibly stand forever. 

Is this showing enough to move Doncic to the front of a crowded early MVP race? It’s hard to argue against it. On a night when Joel Embiid dropped 48 and 10, Doncic made that line look downright childish in drawing basically even with Embiid as the league’s top scorer (33.7 to 33.6). But this goes beyond the numbers. A night like this hits on a gut level. Doncic is the most mesmerizing player we have in today’s game. He took our breath away yet again on Tuesday.