Luka Doncic is questionable for Wednesday’s showdown against LeBron James and the Lakers.
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What do LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway Jr. have in common?
First, they will all be in L.A. on Wednesday when the Lakers host the Mavericks on ABC Wednesday (8:30 ET). Doncic is listed as questionable but traveled with the team as they began a two-game California trip.
Second, they have all scored 40-plus points in the same game with teammate Kyrie Irving.
Let’s dive into Irving’s connections:
- Irving and James (June 13, 2016): Kyrie (41) and LeBron (41) became the first teammates to score 40+ points each in an NBA Finals game, combining for 82 points as the Cavs got the first of three straight wins to complete the first-ever 3-1 comeback in Finals history.
- Irving and Doncic (March 2, 2023): Luka (42) and Kyrie (40) combined for 82 points as the Mavs defeated the 76ers, 133-126, in just their sixth game as teammates.
- Irving and Hardaway (Jan. 15, 2024): Kyrie (42) and Hardaway (41) combined for 83 points with Luka sidelined to defeat the Pelicans, 125-120, on Monday night.
How rare is it to see teammates go off like that on the same night?
There have been just 26 instances of teammates scoring 40-plus points in the same game (regular season and postseason combined) in NBA history. And those 26 were done by 23 different sets of teammates. The only duos to do it multiple times? Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (three times) and Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West (twice).
Irving is the only player in NBA history to be part of three separate duos. And all three of his partners will be together on Wednesday while Irving is one of the best scoring tears of his career.
Over the past three games without Doncic, Irving is averaging 39.7 points per game on 49.5/43/91.9 shooting splits, along with 5.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game. It is the first time in his career that he’s averaged at least 39/5/7 over a three-game span. He also has two of his 33 career regular-season games with 40-plus points during this run.
Irving will look to keep it going Wednesday, with or without Doncic, against a Lakers team that always seems to play the Mavs close. The past five meetings between these teams — including two this season — have been decided by four points or less.
The Mavericks (14-5) and Lakers (12-6) rank second and fifth, respectively, in win percentage in clutch games. Dallas handed the Lakers two of their six clutch losses — holding off a Lakers’ rally on Nov. 22 in L.A. and won as Doncic (33 points, 17 assists) fueled a home win on Dec. 12.
If this game follows that script and is close late, look for Irving to take over as he has been Dallas’ top clutch performer — and one of the best in the NBA.
In the 10 clutch games he’s played, Dallas is 9-1 with Kyrie averaging 4.4 points in 3.6 minutes while posting 54.2/41.7/92.9 shooting splits. The Mavs are plus-49 in Kyrie’s 36.4 total clutch minutes.
