Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has posted the maiden first-half triple double of his career and Philadelphia scoring machine Joel Embiid drained 50 points on a memorable night of NBA action.
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Doncic tallied an astounding 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists during the first half alone in Dallas' clash with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night (Thursday AEDT).
The 24-year-old, who played just 11 minutes in the second half, finished the match with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Mavericks posted a thumping 147-97 win.
It marked the 60th triple-double of Doncic's career and resulted in him leapfrogging the great Larry Bird into ninth place on the overall list.
It was also the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history.
"It's amazing," Doncic said.
"I don't know what to say. But we all know who Larry Bird was, so it's pretty special."
Doncic, who became a father for the first time last week, went into the final 90 seconds of the second quarter still needing a rebound and an assist to make it a triple double.
He grabbed a rebound with a little more than 70 seconds left on the clock, and a short time later he lofted a pass inside to Dereck Lively II to set up a dunk.
Australian Dante Exum added five points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Mavs, but Josh Green was missing due to an elbow injury that is set to sideline him for a few weeks.
The 50-point margin was the equal second worst in Jazz history, with 56 being the record.
Embiid tallied 50 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to inspire the 76ers to a 131-126 win over lowly Washington.
The 29-year-old had missed the past two games with illness, but he made up for lost time with a dazzling display.
Embiid nailed two free throws and a long-range jump shot in the final minute to secure victory.
It was the sixth time in his career he has scored at least 50 points.
Australian star Josh Giddey managed just eight points plus four rebounds and six assists in Oklahoma's 110-101 loss to Houston, making three-of-11 from the field.
The Rockets' Australian centre Jock Landale missed the match due to illness.
Fellow Boomers Duop Reath (10 points, six rebounds) and Matisse Thybulle (nine points) made handy contributions for Portland, but it wasn't enough as Steph Curry scored 31 points to lead Golden State to a 110-106 win.
Sharpshooter Joe Ingles was scoreless from his 17 minutes of action in Orlando's 121-111 loss to Cleveland.
Australian veteran Patty Mills was unused in Atlanta's 114-113 loss to Brooklyn.
No.1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama posted 12 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio's 102-94 loss to Minnesota.
In other results, Memphis beat Detroit 116-102, Miami defeated Toronto 112-103, Chicago accounted for Charlotte 111-100 and the LA Clippers came up trumps 111-102 against Denver.
Australian Associated Press
