By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic have been named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 5 of the 2019-20 season (Nov. 18-24).
This is the first Player of the Week honor Doncic, and he is the first Maverick since J.J. Barea (2016) to win the award. Doncic averaged 37 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 11.8 assists in the past week.
He posted at least 30 points and 10 assists in all four games, becoming the youngest player in NBA history (20 years, 269 days) to record four consecutive 30-point, 10-assist efforts (the previous youngest was Oscar Robertson at 22 years, 34 days). He also led all players outright in scoring all in four games and led the Mavericks outright in assists in all four.
Doncic began the week by becoming the second-youngest player in NBA history (20 years, 263 days) to record a 40-point triple-double after posting a career-high 42 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a 117-110 win over the Spurs (11/18/19). He followed up that performance by registering a 35-point triple-double (35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) in just 25 minutes and 30 seconds in a 142-94 victory over Golden State (11/20/19) – the fewest minutes ever needed to produce a 35-point triple-double in NBA history.
The former EuroLeague MVP tallied 30 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in Dallas’ 143-101 win over Cleveland (11/22/19), helping Dallas sweep its four-game homestand (11/16-11/22/19) against the teams that have accounted for the last six NBA championships (Toronto, San Antonio, Golden State, and Cleveland). It marked the Mavericks’ first sweep of a homestand of four-or-more games since their championship season in 2010-11 (Dallas swept a four-game homestand from 1/25-1/31/11).
Doncic capped off the week by going for 41 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in Dallas’ 137-123 win at Houston on Nov. 24. It gave the Mavericks their first five-game win streak since 2016 (3/28-4/8/16 – 6 games) and snapped the Rockets’ six-game home win streak in the process.
Through 16 games in 2019-20, Dončić is averaging team-highs of 30.6 points (2nd in NBA), 10.1 rebounds (12th in the NBA, only player under 6-8 ranked in the top-25), 9.8 rebounds (2nd in the league) and 1.4 steals in 33.9 minutes. He leads the NBA in triple-doubles with seven.
Doncic is averaging a 30-point triple-double in November, with 32.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game in 12 games.
The second-year Slovenian, who appeared in his 88th career game at Houston on Nov. 24, is averaging 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists over his last 44 games and has recorded 15 triple-doubles in that span. By comparison, Doncic went his first 44 career games without a triple-double while averaging 20.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per contest in that stretch.
The Mavericks are currently in first place in the Southwest Division by a half game over the Rockets with an 11-5 record.