By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic facing LeBron James remains special for the 20-year-old Slovenian. On Sunday night also had the opposing attitude of Kobe Bryant to overcome. A scary fall in the first half rocked him as well. Eventually the Dallas Mavericks were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.
“That was one of the worst games we played,” he confessed following the 2019-20 Regular Season contest, “We didn’t play like us and had a really bad night. I can’t say much more.”
100th game
In losing effort, Doncic rounded up 100 NBA appearances. His 19 points, seven assists and four boards left him with 2,332 points, 828 rebounds and 681 dimes in those 100 games. Oscar Robertson is the only other player in NBA history with over 2,000 points, 750 rebounds and 500 assists in his first 100 contests.
Heckled by Kobe
The five-time NBA champion was in attendance. The Slovenian star had the chance to meet Kobe as he attempted to distract him every chance he got. “He was talking Slovenian. He was talking my language. I saw Kobe talking Slovenian and I was really surprised” commented Doncic afterwards.
LeBron’s night
The reigning NBA rookie of the year missed all of his six three-point attempts struggling throughout the match. On the other side, LeBron became the ninth player with over 9,000 assists shortly after being named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Decade. Not a bad night a few hours before his 35th birthday.
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