Though they didn’t advance in the NBA’s in-season tournament, the Mavericks picked up a hard-fought win over the Rockets on Tuesday night behind 41 points from Luka Dončić.
Dončić scored 12 of his 41 in the fourth quarter, including a late dagger on a shot that isn’t seen much in today’s NBA. With about a minute to play and Dallas leading by five, Dončić tried to shoot a fadeaway over Houston’s Jalen Green. But Green was able to leap high enough to get a fingertip on the ball and block the shot. After a brief scramble for possession, the ball ended up back in the hands of Dončić in the lane.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
That’s when Dončić got creative and hoisted a vintage sky hook, just like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar used to do. The shot fell, dealing a serious blow to the Rockets’ comeback hopes.
LUKA. MAGIC. ???? #MFFL | @dallasmavs on @BallySportsSW ???? pic.twitter.com/VBwBeTfgcN
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) November 29, 2023
It was a difficult shot, and Dončić was asked by a reporter after the game what he was thinking when he decided to take it. His response was simple: “That I’m going to make it.”
Question: "What's going through your head when you decide to shoot a hook shot there at the end?"
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) November 29, 2023
Luka: "That I'm going to make it."
Next question. #MFFL | @dallasmavs on @BallySportsSW ???? pic.twitter.com/zPmsWSO8hJ
Fair enough.
Dončić has attempted a few hook shots in his career (61 in total, or 0.86% of his 7,018 career field goal attempts), but his tough 11-footer against the Rockets on Tuesday was his longest made hook shot of his career. It was a tough shot, but he obviously didn’t doubt it was going in.
