‘I’ll chirp back’: Doncic scores 53 while trading barbs with Pistons coach
Luka Doncic had 53 points in his return to the lineup and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 12 in the fourth quarter as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-105 on Monday night.
Four of Doncic’s five career 50point games have come this season. He scored a career-best 60 against the New York Knicks in a game that went to overtime on 27 December. His 53 points on Monday tied for second-most in Dallas history with Dirk Nowitzki’s total against the Houston Rockets in 2004.
Usually animated and vocal on the court, Doncic was particularly involved in a running conversation with Pistons assistant coach Jerome Allen.
“From the first quarter, he was just chirping,” Doncic, who stared at Allen after most of his baskets in the first quarter, said. “You know I’ll chirp back. From the first quarter, he was chirping.
I don’t want to say the words. I have no problem with that. It’s basketball. It gets me going for sure.”
Pistons coach Dwane Casey dismissed the interactions Doncic and Allen. between
“It’s a bunch of nothing, a bunch of nothing,” he said. “We’ve seen worse. Remember I coached Gary Payton and Kevin Garnett, so that tonight was zero as far as chirping. I liked it. I thought it really got us going, and that’s the way it should be with competitive guys. Doncic is competitive as heck. I love the way he plays, the way he carries himself, and I love the way our guys responded. They weren’t intimidated. So it’s all good. It was clean, nothing dirty about it.
“It’s good if that’s what he needs to get himself going and tell himself. But he doesn’t need any help. He’s a great player without all the other stuff, but it is what it is.”
The Mavericks (27-25) moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the four-team play-in positions. Bojan Bogdanovic had 29 points and Saddiq Bey scored 18 – including five three-pointers – for the Pistons (13-39), who have lost six of
seven.
Doncic was remarkably efficient, making 17 of 24 shots from the floor, going 5 of 11 from three-point range.
He made 14 of his 18 free throws. He is averaging 33.4 points per game this season, second in the league behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (33.6).