With 30 points and 12 assists, Slovenian Luka Doncic led the Mavericks to a 132-105 win over the Pacers on Saturday in the first visit to Dallas by his iconic former coach Rick Carlisle. The veteran coach, who was on the Mavericks bench for 13 years, first of all visited his former team since his campaign to the Indiana Pacers.
Before the clash, the Texana Franchise paid tribute with an emotional video to the only coach who, in 2011, was able to guide them to the ring at the helm of a team led by the German Dirk Nowitzki. Once the game started, Doncic made sure that Carlisle, who carried him in addition to very early campaigns in the NBA, did not leave Dallas with a win.
The Slovenian phenomenon, surpassed this year by Stephen Curry (Warriors) and Ja Morant (Grizzlies) in the voting as the All-Star starter, showed off with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 blocks. During the game Doncic won the 6.000 point barrier in the NBA, becoming the fifth youngest player to do so at 22 years and 335 days. The base did not need this time the help of his squire, the Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (5 points), who had to retire with only 11 minutes played due to discomfort in his right knee.
At the end of the game, Doncic hugged and shared a few words with Carlisle, whose departure from Dallas, according to media reports, was motivated in part by his thorny relationship with the Slovenian. For the Pacers, Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis shone with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists while Dominican rookie Chris Duarte had 12 points and 3 rebounds.
