Luka Doncic recorded a sensational performance to help the Dallas Mavericks clinch a 125-107 victory over the Houston Rockets. During the 18-point win against their state rivals, Doncic had several highlight plays. However, one circus shot in particular left the near-18,000 crowd at the Toyota Center in awe. Rather unsurprisingly, much like everyone in the arena, Kevin Garnett also seemed to be blown away by Doncic’s wizardry.
Advertisement
During the third quarter of the Dallas Mavericks-Houston Rockets encounter, Jabari Smith Jr. was guarding Luka Doncic quite well. With the shot clock running down, Doncic’s constant crossovers didn’t result in an open look to the basket. Eventually, the 6ft 7” guard threw an underhand shot from just within the three-point line. Not only did Doncic get the shot up before the shot clock expired, he hit nothing but net, with the ball going through the basket for the score.
Kevin Garnett was among the many basketball enthusiasts to be left in shock after seeing the play. Resharing the NBA’s Instagram post on his Story, KG claimed that the 25-year-old was playing horse and making tough shots look easy. The Big Ticket wrote:
LUCkA THE DON
SAY WORD
Man bro out here playing horse.. making it look simple
It’s hard to blame Kevin Garnett for his assessment of Doncic’s shot. After all, this was an off-balance under-handed shot from just inside the three-point arc. This is a shot that most superstars wouldn’t even attempt, let alone drain it while making it look like the easiest thing in the world. But then again, given the kind of night the Slovenian was having, should fans really be shocked?
Doncic had one of the best performances of the 2023-2024 campaign. Playing 35:12 minutes (two minutes less than his average), the European recorded 47 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals, per NBA.com. Doncic’s leading the Mavs to an 18-point win with his near 50-point triple-double resulted in the Houston Rockets’ 11-game win streak coming to an end as well. Additionally, their seventh consecutive victory has gotten Jason Kidd’s boys to move up to the 5th spot in the Western Conference, further adding to the possibility of the Mavericks avoiding the play-in tournament.
Kevin Garnett has lauded Luka Doncic previously as well
Kevin Garnett uses his social media and podcast – KG: Certified – to compliment the elite players in the league. Among a few others, Luka Doncic is one player to constantly receive lofty praise.
Back in 2023, amidst Doncic’s 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8 assists per game campaign, Garnett couldn’t stop gushing over the Mavericks’ leader. While talking to his co-panelist, the Boston Celtics legend went on to shed light on Luka’s pace and maturity.
“I love Luka. I love Luka’s pace, I love Luka’s maturity. You see his maturity, you see how he’s been playing with older men or older people in his life. You see it.” KG continued his praise, per Basketball Network. “He’s not afraid of anything in the league. He goes at some of the best defenders the same way and makes them look like they’re not that great of defenders. He has a pace, you can’t speed him up. And he’s figured out the league.”
This year is unarguably Luka’s best season across his six-year career. While potentially leading the Texas side to a top-five finish in the stacked West, the five-time All-Star has recorded a staggering 34 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game, per NBA.com. While the MVP Ladders have been favoring Nikola Jokic to win his 3rd MVP trophy this season, one can make a case for Doncic to lift the 2024 Michael Jordan trophy.
