Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd explained his decision to bench Luka Doncic early as the player was chasing a record.
Luka Doncic made NBA history when he became the only player in the league’s history to record six consecutive 30+ points triple-doubles after accumulating 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Detroit Pistons as a player of the Dallas Mavericks.
Another surreal pass to save it in Luka Doncic highlights folder 😳pic.twitter.com/apHsMA7tF3
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Although the Slovenian guard had already broken the record, his run was stopped against the Chicago Bulls, in which he had 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists, mostly due to the fact that he was mainly benched in the fourth quarter.
Team head coach Jason Kidd explained his decision to bench Doncic, as reported by Grant Afseth.
“Luka’s setting records and it becomes tough when you are trying to win the game,” explained Kidd. “You’re also trying to be respectful of the situation, so to try to get him 30, because this is something that’s never been done before, also not putting him in a position to get hurt.”
Doncic sat out the majority of the fourth quarter since the game was already blown wide open by the Mavericks. As early as the end of the first quarter, the Mavs had a 28-point lead with a partial score of 16-44.
This season, the record-breaking point guard is averaging an almost triple-double of 34.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 9.9 assists on 49.5% field goal shooting.
