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Dallas Mavericks: Luka Doncic dunk comes in at no. 42 play of the year

By Kohl Rast

DENVER, CO - MARCH 14: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks dunks the ball against the Denver Nuggets on March 14, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 14: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks dunks the ball against the Denver Nuggets on March 14, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The NBA social media people have begun counting down the top 50 plays in the NBA from the 2018-19 season. Naturally, Dallas Mavericks guard, Luka Doncic, has already made the countdown, coming in at number 42.

The NBA social media accounts are obviously as bored as we are this summer. After going from the top 20 dunks, top 20 assists, top 20 blocks and whatever else they have been doing, now they are on to the top 50 plays overall. With the countdown only going from number 50 to 41, only one Dallas Mavericks play has made the cut so far.

The number 42 play from the top 50 countdown belongs to Luka Doncic…and I guess Nikola Jokic as well. With the NBA finding it impossible to differentiate between the two plays in quality, they instead decided that the entire sequence needed to be included as a single play. As a fan of Jokic, I am slightly alright with this, although Luka’s half was much more impressive.

The sequence that I am referring to is, of course, the game between the Mavs and the Denver Nuggets on March 14th. With 5.8 seconds left in the game, the Mavs trailed by one point and needed a big play. Luka slashed through the lane, left the ground and dunked all over Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee while getting fouled.

On the other end, Jokic used those last 5.8 seconds wisely and hit a big buzzer-beater to win the game for the Nuggets. Jokic fell two assists shy of a triple-double in this one, while Luka was just one assist short. Both players had great games but only one of them could come out victorious.

Next. A look at the Mavericks personnel turnover

This play was one of the most interesting moments of the season with emotions bouncing around like crazy. Seeing as this one hits at number 42 for the league, it would be wise to expect to see some more top plays from Doncic before this list concludes. I can think of a couple more I expect to make the list before it is all said and done.

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