Mavs’ Doncic records his 1st first-half triple-double, moves past Bird into 9th place all time

DALLAS (AP) — Mavericks star Luka Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the first, first-half triple-double of his career in Dallas’ game against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

The triple-double was the 60th of Doncic’s career and moved him past Larry Bird and into sole possession of ninth place overall on the all-time list.

Doncic went into the final 90 seconds of the second quarter with nine rebounds and nine assists. He grabbed a rebound with 1:11 left following a missed free throw by Keonte George. With 59 seconds left in the period, he lofted a pass inside to Dereck Lively II, whose dunk produced his 10th assist.

With real-time statistics for players on the court displayed on the American Airlines Center video board, the crowd was following Doncic’s progress and erupted in cheers following Lively’s dunk.

It was the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history.

Doncic finished the half shooting 10 of 17 from the floor, 6 of 10 from 3-point distance in 20 minutes. He was a plus-22 as Dallas built a 74-51 lead.

Doncic’s 60 triple-doubles have come in 349 regular-season games. Bird played 897.

Doncic started quickly, hitting his first two shots — both beyond the arc — in the first 57 seconds.

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