The Houston Rockets on Saturday lost their third game in a row to the Dallas Mavericks 104-107 at the American Airlines Center. What made the loss even more bitter was that the Mavericks' 19-year-old Rookie Luka Doncic helped the home team regain the lead by scoring 11 points in less than two minutes at the end of the fourth quarter, just like what Tracy McGrady did for the Rockets 14 years ago.
Doncic makes his own legendary moment
Luka Doncic #77 of the Dalla Mavericks confronts P.J. Tucker of the Houston Rockets. /VCG Photo
Houston has been nothing but disappointing so far in the 2018-19 NBA regular season as they lost 13 of 24 games before Saturday. Desperate for a win, the Rockets were doing well in most of the time in this game as the team's back-court combination, James Harden and Chris Paul respectively put down 35 points and 23 points. Actually, they were the leading by eight points (102-94) until the last three minutes of the game.
However, the key to victory (and loss) always lies in the details. First, five of Harden's six turnovers happened in the third quarter, four of them were committed in the first six minutes and were tuned into steals by Dallas. Second, Harden shot four times from the 3-pt line in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter but missed all of them, which explained why he only scored four points this quarter and his 6/16 3-pt rates for the whole game. Third, Paul, a point-guard who kept a free-throw rate of nearly 85 percent in his career, missed two key free throws in the 47th minute.
James Harden #13 handles the ball in the game between the Rockets and the Mavericks. /VCG Photo
And then there was Luka Doncic who did not play so well in the first three quarters with his 3/13 for FG rate and 0/4 for the 3-pt rate. However, the 19-year-old, Slovenian stood out in the last three minutes. He first made a corner three-pointer assisted by Wesley Matthews. Then Doncic drooped a back-stop shot from the 3-pt line in front of 2.08-meter Clint Capela. Thirty seconds later, he made a floater in transition to tie the score (102-102), right after Paul missed his two free throws. Then Doncic again confronted Capela and made another back-step three-pointer to help the Mavericks to regain the lead (105-102).
"It was special. It's pretty clear that he's got a flair for the moment. He's unafraid. You don't see that every day," said Mavericks' head coach Rick Carlisle. "It's just basketball. If you're going to make shots there in Europe, you're going to make shots here. It's just confidence. This gives me a lot of confidence-believe in me a little more. I'm just glad my team believes in me," said Doncic after the game.
Doncic takes a post-game interview with Fox. /VCG Photo
The incredible performance on Saturday also made Doncic the fourth player this season to launch an 11-0 run by himself, after Stephen Curry, Louis Williams and James Harden, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Doncic currently leads all rookie players in average scoring with 18.2 points per game. What made him so special? He's not the first European genius coming to NBA. There were many overseas players who were better than him in talents, athleticism and experience but most of them failed to find their position in the league. So what's behind Doncic's success?
Doncic sits on the bench with his teammates. /VCG Photo
First, most European players need to be commander of the team before they can maximize their abilities, which rarely happens for a rookie young boy in NBA. Doncic is not like that and he is smart enough to switch from ball-free and ball-handling plays. Moreover, he's with the Mavericks, a team that plays European style and is more than familiar with how to help overseas players because they have Dirk Nowitzki, the greatest international player in NBA history.
Second, European players prefer to pass rather than score, which is partly their choice and partly result of their physical limits-they are not strong enough to confront match-up players. That's not the case for Doncic. With 2.01-meter-height and 99-kilogram-weight, he could play four spots on the court and has proved himself capable of playing physical even with NBA-level forwards. In offense, Doncic can post-up in the low block, make floater in the paint and shoot three-points-though, not in a very steady way. More importantly, Doncic is a master of pace-and retheme-changing, and he can always find the space to shoot.
Doncic blocks a shot by LeBron James #23, and that's what separates him from most European players. He is strong enough to play physical with American rivals. /VCG Photo
Doncic, of course, has his flaws. For example, he is not fast enough in defense. He still has baby fat, which means if he manages to drop his body fat percentage under 12 percent, he shall look totally different. However, remember this, Doncic already plays like a qualified NBA player at the age of 19 with his skills and smartness. All he needs is an NBA-level body which should not be difficult.
Other games on Saturday included: (away teams come first)
Sacramento Kings 97-107 Indiana Pacers
Denver Nuggets 98-106 Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards 101-116 Cleveland Cavaliers
Brooklyn Nets 112-104 New York Knicks
Boston Celtics 133-77 Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Lakers 111-88 Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves 105-113 Portland Trail Blazers
Miami Heat 121-98 Los Angeles Clippers