Jason Kidd about Luka Doncic: 'We can't take him for granted' / News - Basketnews.com

Jason Kidd reacted to historic Luka Doncic's triple-double and insane game-tying shot: "This kid doesn't quit. ... He made his own class which is pretty cool."

Credit: AP-Scanpix Credit AP-Scanpix

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks went against all the odds on Tuesday night. The Mavs were down 112-103 with under 33 seconds to go, but a heavy dose of crunch-time execution and some luck paved the way to a 126-121 overtime win over the New York Knicks at American Airlines Center.

Player of the Game EFF 69 Luka Doncic Points 60 Accuracy 21-31 Rebounds 21 Assists 10

Doncic posted the first-ever 60/20/10 game in NBA historyand improved his career highs in points and rebounds.

"Everybody's still in shock," Kidd started the post-game conference. "He's special. The history of the game is written by the players and it was written again tonight. For a player, Luka, doing something that's never been done before. It's hard to do."

"There were great players before him. I think he was next to [Elgin] Baylor and Wilt [Chamberlain], he was in that class. And then he separated himself. He made his own class which is pretty cool," the head coach said.

New York sent Doncic to the free-throw line, leading 115-112 with 4.2 seconds remaining. Doncic made the first free throw, then -- after intentionally missing the second -- chased down the offensive rebound and made an unbelievable buzzer-beater to tie the score at 115.

"This kid doesn't quit. You can see that. Late game was better for us tonight. The putback, JaVale caused that. That was a big play by JaVale sitting there the whole night. And then coming up with a play to help tie the game," Kidd said of the overtime-forcing play.

"But again, Luka doesn't quit. He keeps playing and his teammates didn't quit. Everyone had a part in making a big play down the stretch."

Following Tuesday night's performance, Luka Doncic joined James Harden (60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists in 2018) as the only players in league history with a 60-point triple-double.

"We sit here every night and we're lucky," Kidd said. "We can't take him for granted. Again, people get their money's worth when they come to watch him play. He puts on a show.

"But he's all about winning. He believes he can win every night. As a teammate and a coach, that's who you want in that locker room," the coach added.

Doncic played over 47 minutes vs. the Knicks, but he is tireless when it comes to competing, as Kidd says.

"I think he has seen it all at the age of 23. His competitiveness to win is at a very high level. ... I do not think he gets tired when he is competing. But when it comes to practice..." Kidd did not finish his thought and he and the reporters in the room burst into a laugh.

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