Luka Doncic joins exclusive club with continued early-season dominance
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic continued his torrid early-season pace on Friday against the Toronto Raptors while joining some exclusive company.
The three-time All-Star opened the second-half scoring, nailing a fade-away 13-footer to give him 31 points. The basket helped Doncic match Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player in the history of the NBA to post outings of 30-plus points in eight consecutive games or more to start a season.
Chamberlain accomplished the feat twice during his historic career, first in 1959-1969 (eight games) and again in 1962-1963 (23 games). Another Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, was the most recent player to come close to equaling Chamberlain, posting 30-plus points in the first six games of the 1986-1987 season. Jordan was an All-Star that season, earning First-Team All-NBA honors while leading the league in scoring with 37.1 points per game.
The Mavericks and Doncic barely squeezed past the Raptors, 111-110. Doncic led all scorers finishing with 35 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block.
He entered play Friday night leading the league in scoring, averaging 36.1 points per game.