Luka Doncic passed Michael Jordan on the NBA triple-double career list with his 29th – but was still critical of his display as the Dallas Mavericks lost 117-101 to the Chicago Bulls.
The 21-year-old Mavericks guard finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, but only scored six of those points in the second half.
“The second half I played terrible,” said the Slovenian.
“I was being a bit selfish because I had 30 points in the first half.”
He added: “That wasn’t me in the second half. I’ve got to do way better than that. That’s just on me. I shouldn’t be doing this.”
Doncic moved into joint 15th on the NBA all-time triple-double list, which is topped by former Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks player Oscar Robertson on 181.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks won at the Boston Celtics to end a five-game losing run.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett each posted double-doubles as the Knicks earned a 105-75 win – their biggest margin of victory in almost five years.
The Celtics topped the Eastern Conference going into the game, but never led as they suffered a first defeat in five.
“We had a clunker,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “You try to have as few of those as you can.”
The Los Angeles Clippers hammered the Indiana Pacers 129-96 to stay second in the Western Conference, with Marcus Morris Sr, Luke Kennard and Paul George scoring 20 points each. The trio were among seven Clippers players in double figures.
Hanging on for a 128-123 win at the Sacramento Kings ensured the New Orleans Pelicans ended a five-game losing streak, while the Utah Jazz are third in the Conference standings after edging past the Denver Nuggets.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ game at the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed just hours before tip-off because the visitors did not have enough available players because of coronavirus.
“Because of ongoing contact tracing within the Sixers, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with the scheduled game against the Thunder,” said the league.
That takes the number of NBA games postponed in the first month of the season to 15.
Sunday’s results:
Boston Celtics 75-105 New York Knicks
Dallas Mavericks 101-117 Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets 105-109 Utah Jazz
Sacramento Kings 123-128 New Orleans Pelicans
Los Angeles Clippers 129-96 Indiana Pacers
