Dallas, Texas – The European connection of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis made its NBA debut this season with a rousing 57 combined points to defeat the Washington Wizards.
Doncic flirted with a double-double with 34 points and nine rebounds while Porzingis had 23 points and dropped 3 three-pointers. It was Porzingis first game in 20-months.
“It’s one game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “This is a long road, and we’ve got to do a lot of things better. But we’ll take 1-0 and move to tomorrow and clean up what we can.”
Both Europeans were complimenting each other during the win.
“He’s amazing,” Porzingis said of Doncic. “The things he was doing out there … the kid is super talented. It’s unreal.”
“He does everything,” Doncic said of Porzingis. “He shoots. He rebounds. He can do a lot of stuff. He’s amazing. He doesn’t miss a shot. I enjoy playing with him.”
On the other side, Bradley Beal was ejected in the game but finished with 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Rookie Rui Hachimura impresses on his NBA debut with a double-double 14 points and ten boards.
“He’s amazing,” Porzingis said of Doncic. “The things he was doing out there … the kid is super talented. It’s unreal.”