Mavs' Luka Doncic dazzles with 73, tied for 4th in NBA history - ESPN

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic had a night to remember Friday, lighting up State Farm Arena for a career-high 73 points in a 148-143 victory over the host Atlanta Hawks.

It marked the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season, passing the 70-point performance by Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs. It also tied Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson for the fourth-highest output in NBA history. Chamberlain, who owns the NBA record with 100 points, also had a 78-point outing, while Kobe Bryant finished with 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006.

«Those names are special,» Doncic said. «It's unbelievable.»

Mavs star Luka Doncic scored a franchise-record 73 points Friday night against the Hawks, marking just the 15th 70-point game in NBA history.

Friday night marked just the NBA's 15th 70-point game, and Doncic is the 10th player to reach the plateau.

A three-point play with 2:58 remaining gave Doncic 70 points. With Dallas leading 140-136, he added another three-point play to cap his effort.

Doncic, who averages 33.6 points, said the performance ranked «probably at the top» in his career but added that he was just focused on getting the win.

«We've been struggling lately,» he said of the Mavs, who had lost three straight before Friday. «Mindset was [to] get a win. We played great.»

Doncic's epic night included 41 points at halftime, which broke Dirk Nowitzki's franchise record for points in a half. He reached 57 by the end of the third quarter, then opened the fourth with eight straight points before finishing with 73.

Doncic scored 23 points in the second quarter after opening with 18 in the first.

He finished 25-of-33 from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range, and converted 15