WATCH: Luka Doncic makes NBA history with first-half triple-double in win vs. Jazz

Luka Doncic has just accomplished something no other player had ever done before in the NBA with this Wednesday’s first-half triple double in their 147-97 victory against Utah. Where does he draw his inspiration from? His first-newborn child? His new headband look? Whatever it is, it’s the best Luka we’ve ever seen! 

In only the first three periods, he had already reached 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, making it his 60th career triple-double and surpassed legend Larry Bird to become the ninth place on the overall list.

“Pretty amazing,” he said after the game, with an excitement you only see on a child on his birthday. “I don’t know what to say, honestly. We all know who Larry Bird was, so it’s pretty special.” Luka’s 60 triple-doubles have come in 349 regular-season games, while the Boston icon played 897.

After 32 minutes of play, the Mavericks star dropped in 14 of 25 from the floor and 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. His teammate Tim Hardaway Jr. recognized his greatness once the game was done.

“Luka set the tone with that, knocking down shot after shot after shot … after shot after shot after shot,” the 31-year-old said. “I thought he was going to go 50-20-20.”

With 1:30 left in the second quarter, he already possessed a 29-point, 9-rebound and 9-assist stat line, and grabbed another rebound only seconds later after Keonte George missed a free throw. A bit over 10 seconds after that, he lofted a pass to rookie Dereck Lively II, who dunked it and sealed the Slovenian’s historic triple-double.

After the game, he admitted he was aware of the numbers as the first half was coming to an end. “I was going for the (assist on the) last field goal, and the assist,” he revealed.

This became Dallas’ highest-scoring game of the campaign and only two points away from turning into the highest one ever in regulation time. The team’s 52-point lead at the end was only a point short from tying the franchise record which was set back in 2014.

Luka also addressed his heated exchange with rival Kris Dunn. “I don’t know. I didn’t do nothing,” the guard said. “There was a little bit of pushing and that, but it wasn’t a technical foul because I didn’t do nothing. He puts a finger in my face, and I just laughed, so I don’t know how I got a tech, but those things just happen in the game. It’s just part of the game.”

The Jazz suffered their second-worst loss in franchise history, only behind a performance over 40 years ago

Unfortunately for the Utah squad, this result meant their second-worst loss in franchise history. The only heavier defeat came in a 56-point loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 1979.

“That was an absolutely horrendous performance,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said in disappointment. “It seemed like the Mavericks were moving at a different pace than we were from start to finish.”

REALLY getting to like Coach Hardy and the way he calls it as he sees it! His @utahjazz team is a good group and will respond to words like these… complete highlights and postgame tonight on @TalkinSports2 after @KUTV2News at ten! #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/ixiFHSPfQP

— Adam Mikulich (@AdamMikulich) December 7, 2023

Coach Jason Kidd only had wonderful things to say about his Slovenian star. “I think Luka’s had a lot of fun this season on both sides of the ball,” he shared. “He’s competing at a high level. He’s having fun. You can see the energy was extremely high. When you look at the game before [versus] Oklahoma City, he played 46 minutes, and he was still ready to go.

“It just shows his conditioning and where his mind is right now — it’s to win. He’s doing everything to put the team in that position to win on a nightly basis.”