Luka Doncic Tied For 5th Most 30-Point Playoff Triple-Doubles in NBA History

Luka Doncic posted his third career 30-point playoff triple-double, tying James Harden and Stephen Curry for the fifth most in NBA history, in the Dallas Mavericks‘ 104-92 Game 5 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals series.

LeBron James leads the all-time list with 16 such games, followed by Oscar Robertson (8), Nikola Jokic (8), and Russell Westbrook (6). It is the second time of Doncic’s six-year career that he’s notched consecutive triple-doubles in the playoffs.

In Game 5, Doncic recorded 31 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and a block in 41 minutes of action. He finished 12-of-22 (54.5%) shooting from the field, 5-of-11 (45.5%) from 3-point range, and 2-of-3 (66.6%) at the foul line.

Luka Dončić recorded his 3rd triple-double this playoffs after a 31-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist performance against OKC tonight, the most triple-doubles by a player this postseason.

Dončić has notched consecutive triple-doubles in playoffs for the second time in his career. pic.twitter.com/D7hWRT36Lr

— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) May 16, 2024

Entering Game 5, he had averaged just 22 points on 39% shooting through the first four games while playing through a sprained right knee and a sore left ankle.

“He was aggressive,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “He was making shots, taking shots. The deep 3-pointer, being able to get to the basket, playmaking for his bigs, and also for the wings.”

Dallas has a 13-0 record when holding its opponent to under 100 points in the regular season or playoffs this year. The team also improved to 4-0 following a loss in the playoffs this year.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic leads all other NBA players this postseason with three triple-doubles

During Wednesday night’s victory, the five-time All-Star also seemed more focused on playing basketball at Oklahoma City than complaining about questionable calls to officials.

“I’m just trying to play basketball, just focus on basketball,” Doncic said. “Sometimes I forget this is the thing I love, the thing I do. My mental focus was [to] just go out there and play basketball with a smile on my face and just go.”

Dereck Lively II added 11 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the youngest Mavs player to post a double-double in the playoffs (20 years, 93 days). He joined Roy Tarpley, Sam Perkins, Dale Ellis, and Marquis Daniels as the only Mavs rookies to notch a double-double in the postseason.

The NBA has announced the following update to the Mavs schedule:

• Oklahoma City at Dallas Game 6 will change game time to 7:00 PM CT.

— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) May 16, 2024

Derrick Jones Jr. also finished Game 5 with a playoff career-high 19 points, surpassing the 17-point playoff high he set in Game 4. Plus, P.J. Washington put up 10 points and grabbed 10 boards as well.

The Mavericks can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win Saturday at home.

“We’ve got one more to win out of two games,” Doncic said. “That’s it. We’re up 3-2, but that’s still nothing. We’ve got to finish it and go with the same mentality at home.

“We know the last game we played against them at home, we let it go. It was our mistakes and they hit shots.”

NBA sportsbooks show Dallas as a 4.5-point favorite at home ahead of Game 6. The Mavs have a 57.7% chance of closing out the series this Saturday, per ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.