The Dallas Mavericks picked up their third consecutive win on Sunday night, defeating the Western Conference’s current No. 1 seed, the Minnesota Timberwolves. While Mavericks star Luka Dončić was his typical dominant self on the offensive end, pouring in 34 points with eight assists, one interesting storyline was his defense, specifically on T-Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
Dončić defended Towns on numerous possessions down the stretch of the 115–108 win, and after the game, revealed that he told coaches to let him guard the three-time All-Star one-on-one. And his reason behind why he wanted to defend Towns certainly grabbed some attention.
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“Because I’m strong,” he told Mavs.com of why he had success against the 7’0”, 250-pound Towns. “I have (some of) the powerful legs in the NBA, I think. I love it because we say we’re going to double. I told (coaches), don’t double. Let me see if I can get a couple stops. I like playing post.”
The mindset from Dončić is just one of many reasons he’s become a premier player in the NBA at just 24 years old. Dončić stands 6’7” and 230 pounds but held his own against Towns. He also continues to showcase his ability to make an impact on the defensive end as well, which just adds to the stellar start to his NBA career.
Dončić will square off with Ja Morant next when the Mavericks welcome the Memphis Grizzlies to Dallas on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
