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NBA history by the numbers: Explore every shot from Luka Doncic’s 73-point masterpiece

A statistical breakdown of the Mavericks star’s historic output against the Atlanta Hawks.

Luka Doncic catapulted himself into another elite category Friday night against the Hawks, shattering his own Mavericks scoring record with 73 points.

The night before his historic explosion, Doncic endured a frustrating night when the rival Suns made their way to American Airlines Center. Doncic didn’t let those emotions linger, dialing in to lead the Mavericks past Atlanta. He scored 18 points in the first quarter, 23 in the second quarter, 16 in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth.

Here’s a statistical breakdown, including a shot-by-shot look at Doncic’s 73-point masterpiece:

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Where he ranks in NBA history

Doncic put himself on the NBA’s single-game scoring Mount Rushmore. Only 10 players have scored 70 or more points in a game, and only four have scored 73 or more: Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson and now Doncic.

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Chamberlain had games of 100, 78 and 73 points (twice). Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006. Thompson scored 73 points on the last day of the 1977-78 season.

Doncic’s performance occurred four nights after Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid scored 70 points and Towns scored 62. On Friday, Doncic was joined in lighting up the scoreboard by Phoenix’s Devin Booker, who scored 62 points.

PlayerTeamPointsDate
Wilt ChamberlainPhl. Warriors100March 2, 1962
Kobe BryantLakers81Jan. 22, 2006
Wilt ChamberlainPhl. Warriors78Dec. 8, 1961
Luka DoncicMavericks73Jan. 26, 2024
David ThompsonNuggets73April 9, 1978
Wilt ChamberlainPhl. Warriors73Nov. 16, 1962
Wilt ChamberlainSF Warriors73Jan. 13, 1962
Wilt ChamberlainSF Warriors72Nov. 3, 1962
Elgin BaylorLakers71Nov. 15, 1960
David RobinsonSpurs71April 24, 1994
Damian LillardTrail Blazers71Feb. 26, 2023
Donovan MitchellCavaliers71Jan. 2, 2023
Joel Embiid76ers70Jan. 22, 2024
Devin BookerSuns70March 24, 2017
Wilt ChamberlainSF Warriors70March 10, 1963
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Shooting percentage

Doncic shot 25 of 33 (75.8%) from the field, 15 of 16 (93.8%) from the free throw line and 8 of 13 (61.5%) from 3-point range.

His free throw percentage was the second highest of the nine other 70-point games after Damian Lillard’s 100% against the Rockets (14 of 14). Embiid shot 21 of 23 (91.3%) from the line Monday for fourth highest, just behind Devin Booker’s 92.3% in 2017 (24 of 26).

Explore every shot Doncic took on the way to 73 in the chart below.

League leaders

Part of the reason Doncic and Embiid were able to reach 73 and 70 points this week, respectively, is because they lead the league in usage rate, a measure that uses the outcome of each possession to indicate the impact a player has on his team’s overall ability to score.

PlayerTeamUsage rate
1. Joel EmbiidPHI38.7
2. Luka DoncicDAL36.0
3. Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL32.2
4. Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC31.6
5. Anthony EdwardsMIN31.5
6. Donovan MitchellCLE31.3
7. Victor WembanyamaSAS30.9
8. De’Aaron FoxSAC30.2
9. Stephen CurryGSW30.0
9. Kyle KuzmaWAS30.0
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Lucky No. 7 for 77

Friday was the seventh time Doncic passed 50 points in his Mavericks career. Dirk Nowitzki reached 50 points twice. Here are all the 50-plus-point performances by Mavericks players:

PlayerOpponentPointsDate
Luka DoncicHawks73Jan. 26, 2024
Luka DoncicNY Knicks60Dec. 27, 2022
Luka DoncicPistons53Jan. 30, 2023
Dirk NowitzkiRockets (OT)53Dec. 2, 2004
Luka DoncicSpurs51Dec. 31, 2023
Luka DoncicLA Clippers51Feb. 10, 2022
Dirk NowitzkiGolden State51March 23, 2006
Luka DoncicRockets50Dec. 23, 2022
Luka DoncicSuns50Dec. 25, 2023
Jim JacksonNuggets (OT)50Nov. 26, 1994
Jamal MashburnBulls (OT)50Nov. 12, 1994

Big gains

Mark Followill, the Mavericks play-by-play announcer for Bally Sports, pointed out the statistical leaps Doncic took in just one night:

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StatisticBefore FridayAfter Friday
Points per game33.634.6
Field goal percentage.482.492
3-point percentage.373.381
Free throw percentage.769.777

Kobe comps

Doncic’s 73 points is the highest single-game total since Kobe Bryant’s legendary 81-point night against the Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006. It could be argued, though, that Doncic’s game was even more efficient, and impressive, than Bryant’s was.

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Here is how the two games compare.

Pts.FGM/FGA (%)3PM/3PAFTM/FTAReb.Asst.
Luka Doncic, 1/26/20247325/33 (75.7%)8/13 (61.5%)15/16 (93.7%)107
Kobe Bryant, 1/22/20068128/46 (60.8%)7/13 (53.8%)18/20 (90%)62

And of course, Doncic’s stellar performance came on the fourth anniversary of Bryant’s death.

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