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Mavs' Luka Dončić Is a 'Monster Player' After Historic Game, Says Knicks HC Thibodeau
December 28, 2022
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau praised Luka Dončić while lamenting how his team defended the Dallas Mavericks star in a 126-121 overtime loss on Tuesday night.
"He's a monster player," Thibodeau told reporters. "There are some plays I thought he made good plays and was aggressive. But you can't keep fouling a guy and give 22 free throws up."
Dončić finished with 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in Dallas' win. No player in NBA history had ever posted a 60/20/10 triple-double.
Allowing the three-time All-Star to get 22 attempts from the charity stripe—he made 16 free throws—certainly wasn't ideal for New York. But this was one of those instances when a team simply had no answer for a hot scorer. Nothing the Knicks threw at Dončić worked.
His game-tying bucket in the final seconds illustrated how he wasn't to be denied.
After Tuesday, the 23-year-old is averaging 33.6 points, 8.8 assists and 8.7 assists while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. He has almost single-handedly lifted the Mavs to sixth in the Western Conference.
Dončić has taken his game to another level after having already established himself as a top-10 player in the league. At this rate, we could be witnessing an MVP race for the ages.