Luguentz Dort entered NBA history last night. In his second year in the league, and buoyed by a reconstruction that has given him many minutes (and balls) in Oklahoma City, he marched against Utah to 42 points to achieve his personal best and join an exclusive group of five players .
In hours now, Dort has been the fifth player in the past 30 years to achieve a game of at least 40 points without being drafted. Before him, Damien Wilkins, CJ Watson, Anthony Morrow and Fred VanVleet had done it.
In 37 minutes on the floor, this Arizona State University forward posted 16 of 31 from the field (including 7 of 11 from 3-pointers) and 3 of 7 from the free throw line. In addition, he added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals to his stat sheet. Here is your display of powers.
“It was sensational. And what really goes unnoticed with him is that he defended Donovan Mitchell all night. There are guys who get 40 in the NBA on certain nights, but I’m not sure many have defended a kid like Mitchell as effectively as Lu did, “says Thunder coach Mark Daigneault.
Dort’s performance was a real blast. This 21-year-old had gone two weeks off the concussion protocol until he got back on the court two days ago. In his second game since then he has scored 42 points when before he hadn’t reached 30. “I’ve been working hard on my game. Having the opportunity every day to show my game and simply show that I am improving, makes me feel good, ”he says.
Victory, for Utah
That’s how it is. Despite the offensive deployment of Dort, who was accompanied by 12 points and 15 rebounds from Moses Brown, the victory ended up staying in Salt Lake City. The Jazz, after seeing their streak of 24 consecutive victories at home cut short, returned to the good path with 22 points from Donovan Mitchell, 23 from Bojan Bogdanovic and 18 points and 10 rebounds from Georges Niang, who started for the first time in the present. course.
“This is not something that came out on its own. That is what he has always been doing. He just had more chances, more minutes, and sometimes when that happens the guys try to do more, but in Georges’s case, what he did was enough. He just let the moment of the game come to him, ”says Quin Snyder, head coach of the Jazz.
(Photograph by Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
