Mavericks' Luka Doncic's massive game proves Hawks made unforgivable mistake

Noah Weber

Dallas Mavericks v Atlanta Hawks / Todd Kirkland/GettyImages

On Friday night, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic made history.

Doncic and the Mavs were on the road in Atlanta to battle the Hawks, and they were coming off of back-to-back losses to the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns. The Mavs needed a win badly, and Doncic's dominance led them to a 148-143 win over the Hawks.

Doncic finished with 73 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and one steal while shooting 25-33 from the field and 8-13 from behind the arc. He dominated in all facets of the game, and the Hawks had no answer for him defensively. His 73 points set the all-time record for the Mavs for points in a game and the fourth-most points in a game in NBA history.

Mavericks' Luka Doncic's massive game proves Hawks made unforgivable mistake

Doncic was hitting extremely tough stepback jumpers from downtown, getting to the basket, and making every trip to the free-throw line count. He went 15-16 from the free-throw line tonight, and everything was going right for Doncic tonight.

While this game proves that Doncic is still one of the best young players and MVP candidates in the NBA, it also puts the nail in the coffin in regards to the Hawks making one of the biggest mistakes in the recent memory of the NBA.

On draft night, the Hawks traded Luka Doncic to the Mavs in exchange for Trae Young and a future first-round pick. This future first-round pick ended up being Cam Reddish, who is now on the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Hawks traded away a potential all-time great for Young.

Young still had a solid game and finished with 30 points and 11 assists, but the clear better player was on the other side of the floor in Doncic.

Young has been great in Atlanta and has reached an Eastern Conference Finals, but his skill is nowhere close to that of Doncic. There isn't even a debate anymore about who is the better player of these two, and Friday night's masterclass from Luka closed the door on this debate ever getting brought up again.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks this season, stay tuned.

Noah Weber

Noah Weber is the Site Expert for The Smoking Cuban, covering the Dallas Mavericks as a credentialed media member since the 2022-23 season. With a Bachelor of Science in Sports Media from Oklahoma State University, Noah has worked in sports journalism since 2019. While he's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State Cowboys, he has now established himself as a go-to voice for Mavericks coverage. Noah's expertise includes in-depth game analysis, social media content creation, and offering unique perspectives through his reporting. His work has been featured on major platforms such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Overtime. During his time at Oklahoma State, Noah won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association Awards for a show he co-produced. Outside of covering the Mavs, Noah enjoys working out, playing basketball and Spikeball, and spending quality time with friends and family.