It has been a wild 48 hours for Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic to say the least.
It all started on Friday, as Doncic and his fiancee Anamaria Goltes welcomed their daughter Gabriela into the world. Then, on Saturday, Doncic, as a first-time father, returned to the Mavs' lineup and nearly pulled off a massive 24-point fourth-quarter comeback after leading an NBA-record 30-0 run in the final frame.
"First of all, it was the happiest day of my life. I got the baby, but then today's game was a big rollercoaster, too," Doncic said after the Mavs ultimately lost to the Thunder 126-120. "I'm so sad we didn't win this game, but man, we gave a big, big effort."
Doncic ended up making some NBA history in two ways on Saturday, as he tied Boston Celtics Legend Larry Bird for ninth on the all-time triple-double list and also became the first player in league history to record a game with at least 35 points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists, two blocks, two steals and five made 3-pointers in a game.
Although the Mavs have now lost six of their last nine games while also having a bit of bad luck when it comes to injuries, Doncic was encouraged by his team's comeback attempt and believes they will 'win a lot of games' this season.
"This team today was impressive in the third and fourth quarter. We gotta play [like] this more times, man. We're gonna win a lot of games."
Doncic finished his first game as a 'Girl Dad' with 36 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists while shooting 11-22 overall and 5-13 from deep. If this is Doncic's version of now having 'dad strength,' then he's probably right about the 11-8 Mavs stacking up a lot more wins throughout the course of this season.
Doncic and company will be back in action on Wednesday when they'll take on the Utah Jazz in what will be the first of two In-Season Tournament consolation exhibitions for teams that didn't win group play.
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