Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic has a message for the rest of the NBA: there’s no way you can stop the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic.
Darko Rajakovic shared his thoughts on Luka Doncic after the Raptors’ 127-116 win over the Mavs on Wednesday, per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
“You’re not going to hold Luka Doncic to 15 points; that’s not happening,” Rajakovic said.
Darko Rajakovic was right – Doncic finsihed the game with 31 points. However, he missed 15 of his 26 shot attempts and turned the ball over four times.
Pascal Siakam had season-highs of 31 points and 12 rebounds in the Raptors’ win. OG Anunoby added 26 points to Toronto’s cause.
Anunoby helped contain Luka Doncic with his excellent defense. Doncic made just two of 10 three-pointers with Anunoby draped all over him.
For his part, Anunoby made nine of his 17 field-goal attempts. The Mavs’ poor free-throw shooting also did them in. Dallas made just 19 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe.
The Raptors evened their win-loss record to 4-4 after their second straight road win in Texas. On the other hand, the Mavs fell to 6-2 on the season.
Luka Doncic’s performance against the Raptors was a stark contrast to his crunch-time performance against the Orlando Magic on November 7.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving helped the Mavs pull away for good late in the fourth quarter. The Dallas backcourt duo scored 16 of the Mavs’ 18 points during a pivotal run that propelled them to a 117-102 win.
Luka Doncic’s 31.6 points per game currently ranks him second in the NBA behind Joel Embiid and Donovan Mitchell. Embiid and Mitchell both average 32.5 points per game. Doncic’s 9.6 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game make him close to averaging a triple-double. Think Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook for a moment here.
Indeed, Luka Doncic will reach new heights this season.