Mavs' Luka Dončić Is a 'Monster Player' After Historic Game, Says Knicks HC Thibodeau
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.
