PHOENIX — Do not confuse this as a direct comparison. Luka Doncic trails Michael Jordan by six NBA championship rings along with many other honors and accolades. There is a long, long road to travel here when it comes to all that matters. But what you are looking at these days in a No. 77 uniform for the Dallas Mavericks is one true scoring machine.
They do not hand out certificates for scoring 45 in a playoff loss as Doncic did here Monday night. In the future — which begins Wednesday at 9 p.m. CDT — the Mavericks would be better served to get 30 from Luka and 20 each from Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie if they hope to even their second-round series with the Phoenix Suns. Getting 45 from Luka and 21 points on 9-for-24 shooting from Brunson and Dinwiddie is not the preferred path as we saw in a 121–114 loss at Footprint Center.
But about those 45 points…
