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Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic opened up on delivering a notable performance for his side on the fourth death anniversary of Kobe Bryant. Doncic scored 73 points for his side to ensure a 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on the four-year anniversary of Bryant’s tragic death. With his performance, the 24-year-old set a new franchise record, only to have tied for the fourth most in NBA history and surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant.
Doncic surpassed his personal best record and team record of 60 points after scoring a team-record 41 points in the first half. Doncic’s record-breaking performance came on the same day as Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s fourth death anniversary. Bryant shared a special bond with Doncic and in the post-game interview, Doncic said, “It’s amazing man. It’s very special. We all love Kobe…It’s special to fall on the same day. Obviously, I wish he was here.”
It was great: Luka Doncic on receiving cheer from Hawks’ crowd
The 24-year-old also talked about receiving cheers from the Hawks crowd at the State Farm Arena in the second half of the game. In the second half, right after the final buzzer, Doncic signed a 77 Hawks jersey for rapper Boosie Badazz. In the post-match conference, the Slovenian spoke about the same and said, “It was great. I could have been here, but I think it benefits both sides. I actually saw one fan wear Atlanta jersey with 77, so I was laughing.”
Notably, Doncic was picked by the Hawks with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft before having traded to Dallas for Trae Young with the No. 5 pick. Talking about the game, Doncic hit 25-of-33 shots, including 8-for-13 from behind the arc, and successfully made all but one from his 16 free-throw attempts.
