Doncic dazzles with 50 points in Mavs win vs Suns

LOS ANGELES – Luka Doncic scored 50 points, hitting the 10,000-point plateau as he propelled the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 victory over Phoenix on Monday (Tuesday Manila time).

Doncic drilled eight 3-pointers, his long trey with 4:52 left in the first quarter taking him past 10,000 career points.

The 24-year-old Serbian is the sixth-fastest to reach 10,000 points in terms of age and tied for the seventh-fastest in terms of games played at 358.

Luka Doncic put together an HISTORIC #NBAXmas performance in the Mavs' win over the Suns ????

50 PTS
15 AST
8 3PM
6 REB
4 STL
3 BLK

?? No player in NBA history has reached these thresholds
?? 2nd player ever with 50 points and 15 assists (James Harden, Dec. 31, 2016) pic.twitter.com/tBFSwWKq9n

Doncic's milestone bucket put the Mavs up 21-11. But he and the Mavericks had plenty more work to do against a determined Suns team that rallied from a 15-point deficit and led by six early in the fourth quarter.

A 17-4 scoring run midway through the final quarter carried Dallas to a 115-106 lead and Dallas held on from there, Doncic reveling in the victory in front of hostile Suns fans.

"It's fun for me," said Doncic, who added six rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and three blocked shots. "When you make a shot, the whole gym is quiet. So that's the best feeling in the world."

Grayson Allen scored 19 of his 32 points in the third quarter for Phoenix. Devin Booker added 20 points and 10 assists and Kevin Durant scored 16, but the night belonged to Doncic.

He made all 12 of his free throws as he became the fourth player to score 50 or more points on Christmas, which the NBA traditionally celebrates with a slate of marquee games.