Luka Doncic breaks ancient Mavericks record that seemed unbreakable

The Dallas Mavericks have played a selfless brand of basketball over this recent stretch, as the Mavericks' newfound defensive intensity has propelled them to win 15 of their last 17 contests. The Mavericks' most recent victory was last night against the Charlotte Hornets, as the 49-30 Mavericks were able to take care of business handily against the 19-60 Hornets.

Despite how heavily favored the Mavericks were going into this contest, this game did feature a variety of intriguing headlines. For one, this was the first time that the Mavericks and Hornets have played each other since the trade deadline, where the Mavericks acquired P.J. Washington for Seth Curry, Grant Williams, and a 2027 first-round pick.

Former Mavericks 3-point sniper Davis Bertans was also suiting up against his former team, so this game clearly had some stakes on both sides regardless of the Hornets being eliminated from playoff contention. However, one thing that has proved true time and time again is that Luka Doncic has a tendency to steal the show regardless of whatever narratives may be present heading into a game.

Luka Doncic breaks Mark Aguirre's record for most points in a season in Mavs history

Doncic finished the game with an astounding 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, but even more impressive was the feat that he accomplished in the third quarter of the game, as Doncic nailed a step-back 3-pointer to surpass Mark Aguirre for most points scored in a single season by one player in Dallas Mavericks history.

Doncic is now at an incredible 2,341 points on the season, a mark that he projects to add to in Dallas' remaining three contests. Doncic has been playing at an MVP-level all season long and has only gotten better offensively every season that he's been on the team, so it almost seemed inevitable that he would break Aguirre's 40-year-old record (from the 1983-84 season) at some point, especially when you take into consideration that Doncic is leading the league in scoring at 33.9 points per game this season.

The argument can be made that Doncic's feat is far more significant than Aguirre's previous record, as the skill level and parity in the NBA is at an all time high, and certainly at a far greater level compared to 40 years ago.

Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki wasn't even able to break Aguirre's single-season scoring record in any of his 21 seasons with the Mavericks, which goes to show just how outlandish the record Doncic broke last night was, even though Doncic and Nowitzki have two vastly different playstyles and played in different eras.

Doncic will likely continue to add to his record tonight as the Mavericks face off against the Miami Heat on the second night of a back-to-back, so stay tuned for more coverage on Doncic and the Mavericks as they approach the playoffs.