DETROIT – Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd wasn't surprised by the high-level performance of star man Luka Doncic, who captured a piece of National Basketball Association history on March 9.
The Slovenian guard became the first player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles as the Mavericks defeated the Detroit Pistons 142-124 on the road.
Doncic had 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, surpassing Russell Westbrook's five-straight 30-point triple-double in 2016-17.
He also extended his NBA record with five consecutive triple-doubles of 35 points or more, adding three steals and two blocked shots.
“This just shows you the kind of situation he's playing in right now,” said Kidd, who called Doncic's form “as rare as Picasso.”
“(It's) his level, being able to score, being able to find his teammates and lastly being able to rebound the ball to help us on the defensive end.”
Doncic scored 26 points in a back-and-forth first half. That included 21 points in the second quarter, seemingly buoyed by chants of “Luka Sachs” from Pistons fans.
“Well, we know he's not the worst,” Kidd added. “I think we know he enjoys being talked to by people. If that inspired him, we hope to see more of that happen.”
Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, which expanded its lead to 16 points in the third quarter and opened the fourth with a 7-0 scoring run.
Cade Cunningham had 33 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds for the Pistons.
But it was another frustrating night for Detroit, which boiled over in the fourth quarter when Jalen Duren was ejected for a hard shove by P.J. Washington.
Washington had pushed Duren aside to help teammate Daniel Gafford after Duren fouled.
Elsewhere, the league-leading Boston Celtics avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season with a 117-107 victory over Kevin Durant's Suns in Phoenix.
Jayson Tatum overcame a slow start to score 29 points and grab 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 27 points for Boston, which suffered losses to Cleveland and reigning NBA champion Denver.
Durant scored 45 points and Bradley Beal added 25, but the Suns trailed for much of the night with All-Star Devin Booker out with an injury.
